Shattered Glass
by Fallen Angel of Hell
Summary: Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta: **twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** I sadly do not own Twilight, but boy do I wish it was real.

**A/N:** I have a habit of writing short prologues, so don't think that the chapters are going to look like this. The chapters I have in my arsenal are much longer.

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**Prologue**

**Broken**

I never would have guessed just how lucky I was a few years ago. I would have never believed that moving to the damp, cold, small town of Forks could ever change my world for the better. Had someone told me that I would meet the love of my life there, I would have slapped them stupid and demanded that they wake up and smell the rain. If someone would have told me I would be granted immortality and the opportunity to spend eternity with the love of my life, I would have asked if they were enjoying their psychedelic trip.

In four short years, everything had changed, and before I knew it, I had married the most wonderful man in the world, and together, we had had the single most beautiful child in the world. Everything was perfect. We had everything we would and could ever dream of having.

But for the first time, I was looking across the room at a shell of a woman, who sat, resting her head in her lap. Her dark red hair hung in a solid sheet around her face. Next to her, I felt as though I was extremely lucky. Like I had won the lottery. I had it all.

I had heard her story, fragments of her past told here and there from her own lips as well as from the lips of my own family. Her life was full of pain and horror that nobody could ever imagine. The events of her death were even worse, and the sentence of immortality that I viewed as a gift was nothing more than a curse to her. I didn't think it was ever possible to meet a broken vampire, but I guess that there are some things that even our own venom doesn't heal. The phrase that time would heal all wounds didn't apply here. Her emotional wounds would never heal, and in her case, time wounded any of the healing that she had done.

"Bella," Edward spoke softly from the door. I turned to look at him, and he beckoned me to join him. I stood and hesitantly left her sitting there.

"I don't want to leave her," I said quietly as we walked across the silent grass in front of our family home. "It's like looking into a mirror, except in the mirror, everything is backwards."

"She just needs a few minutes to sort through some things," he placed his hand on my shoulder. "We will rejoin her in a few minutes, but for now, let's leave her to her thoughts."

"Her thoughts are what have broken her, Edward. For twenty years, she has isolated herself from _us._ Other vampires," I spoke fiercely, hoping and praying that I would get my point through. "Don't think I haven't noticed her patterns, Edward. She tries to put on the façade that she is okay, but I know better. I know how she feels because once upon a time not so long ago I _was_ her. I know exactly how she feels, and I think that I can help her."

"What if she doesn't want your help?" he asked. For the first time, Edward sounded unsure of himself.

"Then I will leave, but I don't think that she wants me to leave." I looked back toward the house. "I think that she wants me to stay with her, help her as a friend. Let's face it, Alice and Rosalie have had their own problems, but none that they come so strikingly close to. She needs me."

"I'll be waiting then," he brushed a finger softly across my skin and kissed me lightly on my lips. "We need to hunt, and so does she. Please try to convince her."

She had run out of her stock of blood nearly a week ago, though, when she looked up her eyes were still gold, but they were darker now. He was right—she needed to feed.

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_Below this Prologue there is a white button with green writing that specifically states Review this story/chapter. I have quite a lot of this story already written and the only way you are going to get more is if you give me some incentive to give it to you._

_So I'm hoping that unlike in the past I might be able to get through this fic without losing my mind. Please I'm looking for nice pleasant reviews and constructive criticism. I've already posted this once and the minute I did I started editing like crazy when I would have ideas that needed to be put in so I took it off and decided to do a rewrite._

**Forever,**

_**Fallen Angel of Hell**_


	2. New Arrival

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta: **twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** I keep dreaming that I will wake up and I will have written Twilight myself... but then I wake up.

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**Chapter One**

**New Arrival**

"_The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid. " Goose- Top Gun_

Edward whipped the Volvo so quickly around the corner that I was certain he would wake Nessie. I glanced into the backseat at our still sleeping daughter and turned back to my husband, curious as to why he was suddenly taking the curves so quickly.

"Edward, why are we going so fast?" I questioned, running my fingers through his soft hair. "You haven't ever driven like this with Nessie in the backseat."

"We're being followed," he mumbled gruffly looking at the rear view mirror.

_Followed? By who?_ I wondered silently, turning my body back—this time not to admire my beautiful daughter, who, even at the tender young age of two and a half, had the body of an twelve year old—but to see if we were being followed. A black Dodge Charger was tailing us at the same speed we were.

"How long have they been back there?" I demanded quietly, beginning to worry about our child, who slept away in the backseat after a long day of playing on a remote beach with Jacob.

"I picked their scent up just before we left the beach." He glanced in the mirror again. "We were getting in the car, and I caught it. A newborn and an older vampire, the old one not much older than the new one, but older nonetheless. I noticed the car just as we were driving out of the city limits."

"We're not far from home, at least, if it comes down to a fight," I growled, staring at the car. We had just finished dealing with the Volturi, and now it was possible that we had a stalker. I eyed my daughter nervously and turned my gaze back to the speeding Charger.

Edward slowed slightly as he turned into the almost hidden driveway, and the Charger turned into our driveway with us.

"Stay in the car." His voice was gruff. He never got this way unless he sensed danger, and smelling a newborn vampire in the air was very dangerous, especially when we had Nessie with us. Surely that newborn could smell her. I listened to my husband, and stayed as he climbed out, smoothly slamming the door behind him. I looked up at our house. Jasper was standing in the window staring down at us with a smile on his face. Behind the car, I heard the Charger's car door open and hard-soled shoes touching lightly on the ground.

"Easy, Edward, I mean no harm," a woman's voice spoke softly. I turned to watch as a tall, beautiful, dark-haired vampire stood outside of her car, holding her hands up.

"Matilda?" Edward's voice was full of surprise. "Bella, go ahead and get out. Mattie what are you doing here?"

"I'm not here for a social call, Edward. I have something very pressing."

I heard a scream issue from her car. She had a passenger who was pleading for somebody to kill him.

"You turned someone?" He sounded shocked.

"Not that I wanted to. I need to see, Carlisle. I don't know if I can handle a newborn." She looked at him pleadingly. "Other than you guys, I don't know any vampires."

"How long ago did you bite him?"

"Thirty six hours ago. We've been driving all the way from Pennsylvania. I got about halfway to Alaska first when I had the right idea to call them. Tanya told me that you just moved here, so I turned around. She didn't give me an address on where to find you. I caught your scent from the road, and found you first down at the beach. I'm sorry if I scared you, Edward, but I need Carlisle's help."

"Bella, please get Nessie in the house—it's safe," he told me. "Bring your newborn in, and I'm afraid you will have a lot of explaining to do."

"I will be more than happy to explain." Her car door slammed shut as she darted around to the other side, swinging the door open and lifting a large muscular man out with relative ease. He screamed, begging her again to kill him. "You should have thought about this, Gun."

I was out of the car by the time she was halfway up the drive, carrying the man. I lifted Nessie from the backseat. Her body curled against me, her hand reaching up to my face. For a moment, I saw that she was dreaming of playing in the water with Jacob, before she settled back into my arms. I walked smoothly toward the house.

Inside the house, I could hear the man pleading with his maker, who was trying her best to soothe him. I carried Nessie up to her room, hoping that she wouldn't wake up to the screams. I laid her down on the bed carefully, and watched as she snuggled into the pillows as if there was nothing going on. I knew that she would be okay, and I had to investigate the situation at hand.

Carlisle was hunched over the newborn. Across the room, the other vampire sat on our couch, head down to her knees. Alice and Jasper were next to her, talking to her softly.

"It isn't your fault Mattie, it will be okay, he will be fine," Alice whispered. I walked over to Edward, who was looking over the situation grimly. I could have sworn I heard her mumble that it wasn't okay.

"Who is she Edward?"

"Matilda Carlisle. She's a vampire whom we helped nearly two decades ago, and judging by her thoughts, the man writhing in pain, turning into a newborn vampire, is her son, Gunnar Harlow."

"Matilda, how did this happen?" Carlisle questioned, as he stood upright. "I thought you said that you were never going to turn them."

"I had no choice, Carlisle. He was dying. I had to save him." Her voice was soft. "I don't know why he would do it, but he did, and I sensed that something was wrong. I could smell blood, and when I walked in, he was in the tub with every major blood vessel slashed open."

Gunnar Harlow was attempting suicide, and she saved him. Matilda sounded as if she were just like Carlisle.

"I see." He glanced over at Edward. "What is he thinking, Edward? Can you hear him?"

Edward stood up and walked over kneeling next to Gunnar, probably to get a better read. His mind reading was more enhanced the closer he was to a person. He looked deeply into his eyes.

"He wanted this. He knew that she would be close, that she would save him from himself." He looked over at Matilda sympathetically. "Has he ever asked you what it's like to be one of us?"

"Yes," Matilda mumbled softly. "I told him that I didn't want this life for him."

"Well, I guess he didn't give you much of a choice then," Alice said quietly. "He was counting on you saving him, turning him. He knew that you wouldn't let the family go through the horror of losing him like they lost you. I wish that you would have been able to call us. I saw you coming, but you were supposed to be alone."

"I lost your phone number, Alice," she mumbled, "or else I would have called you guys first to make sure it was okay if I came. I know you have a little one in the house now, and I would hate to put her in any danger. I feel horrible. I shouldn't have come at all, but I panicked. I've never been around any other vampires except you guys."

"It's ok, Mattie," Edward was now standing with his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Should we move him to a safer location soon, considering that Nessie is here, or shall we send her to Jacob for a few days?"

"I would feel much better if our daughter spent a few days with Jacob," I volunteered. Not everyone was lucky like me and had self-control from the moment the transformation was over, and I had to think of Nessie's safety.

"Done." Edward walked calmly by me heading up the stairs. I was faintly aware that there was a set of eyes on me, and I turned to meet the pale, amber eyes of Matilda.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to ruin the family for this."

I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but I heard Edward coming back down the stairs, carrying the peaceful figure of our daughter. He mouthed that he would be right back and that he loved me. I peered out the window, watching as he maneuvered carefully around Matilda's car and drove out of sight. At least I knew that our daughter would be safe.

I watched as Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie returned from their hunting trip. Rosalie stretched as soon they stepped away from the trees, mumbling about drinking too much. Esme didn't usually hunt without Carlisle, but at last minute, she was forced to make an exception, because he had been called away in an emergency. Emmett was bouncing slightly, or at least he was until he saw the sleek black Charger parked in the drive. The three stopped puzzled and sniffed the air. Panic crossed their faces and they ran into the house.

"Who's here?" Emmett demanded. Rosalie spotted her first and her look of panic softened.

"Em, calm down," Rosalie said softly. Esme had met my eyes, which led her to Alice, Jasper, and Matilda, who was still looking at Gunnar with a helpless look in her eyes.

"Not who I would be expecting," Rosalie said, walking over to the changing newborn. "Who are you turning?"

A flash of anger crossed Matilda's face, and for a moment, I thought that she might attack Rosalie, but she sat there, and the anger that had graced her lovely face disappeared. Her eyes met her new son's eyes as he whimpered and sobbed.

"My son," she whispered.

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_So marks the end of chapter one. I hope that you guys are enjoying the story so far. Now please if you will there's this little white button with green writing in it that says "Review this Story/Chapter" I would appreciate it very much if you would hit that and leave me some feedback. I am halfway through writing chapter 6 as I post and I would just love to have some input so hit the button and tell me what you think.  
_

_ **Forever**_

**_Fallen Angel of Hell_**


	3. The Mother's Tale

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** Not mine! Just a devoted fan.

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**Chapter Two**

**The Mother's Tale**

"_A boy's best friend is his mother." Norman Bates - Psycho_

A day and a half later and the transformation was complete. Carlisle stood with the newborn vampire, talking to him softly. Gunnar Harlow looked around, confused, as though he had just woken up after months of being in a coma. Matilda was downstairs having just returned from hunting alone. Edward and I hadn't talked much about her, and all I knew was her name and that she was someone that they had once helped. I wanted answers, but most of all, I was curious how the newborn, Gunnar, was going to react to his new surroundings. I hadn't met any newborns since I had been turned two years ago.

Edward had explained to Jacob that he needed him to keep Nessie. Jacob had agreed with no questions much to my surprise. Perhaps it had been the frightened quiver in Edward's face that had convinced him simply to take her and to keep her safe. She hadn't been away from us long, but I missed my daughter terribly.

"Where am I?" his voice was deep. "Where is she?"

"She is downstairs waiting for you," Carlisle spoke softly and placed his hand carefully on his shoulder. "This is Bella. Do you remember her?"

I didn't expect him to remember me, but I had sat with him for a few hours during the middle of the night as the final changes were taking place. He had spoken to me in a frightened voice wondering where he was. I had told him, but he had forgotten already.

"I don't think so, should I?" He looked back at Carlisle, confused. "I'm thirsty."

"I know. I will be taking you myself." Carlisle patted him lightly on the shoulder. "But first, I want to make sure that you know we will not be taking in a normal diet."

"I do know. Animals only." I was taken aback slightly. I remembered what my family had told me about the typical newborn. A typical newborn would be breaking through windows running away to feed, but like me he was standing there calmly and even knew our special diet.

"Let's go then." Carlisle was carefully leading him toward the door. "Are you going to come, Bella?"

"No, I think I'm going to stay here." I didn't want to hunt again, and I didn't want to hunt with Carlisle and this newcomer. "I'm going to go talk to Edward." I turned to leave. I was going to talk to more than just Edward. I wanted answers, I wanted to know why she couldn't handle the whole situation herself.

"Wait!" Gunnar spoke eagerly. "I think I remember you. You were the last person to check on me. Why wasn't it—"

"Matilda is very distressed and is naturally worried about you. She thought it best to stay away from you, at least until after your first hunt when you would be more rational."

His mouth curved in to a small 'O', and he suddenly looked guilty.

"She's angry with me," he said. "Let's get this hunt over with. I want to see her."

Carlisle led him to the open window and explained what they were going to do. He nodded, understanding what was being asked of him. I waited until they were gone before I went back downstairs, where my family and the newborn's creator sat waiting.

"They're gone," I said. "Now, is someone going to tell me what is going on, or am I going to have to piece it together?"

Matilda stood by the window, arms crossed. She was nearly five foot nine, slender, pale like the rest of us. Her dark red hair was cut into a stylish, shoulder-length swing bob with bangs that swept to the right covering her right eye slightly. Her knee length red dress moved with the wind that was blowing in from the open window. Alice had forced her into wearing that dress because the t-shirt and blue jeans she had been wearing were covered in blood, and the stains were not budging.

"Bella this is Matilda," Alice volunteered cheerfully. "Matilda this is Edward's lovely wife Bella."

"It's nice to meet you," Matilda was in front of me holding out her hand, "I'm very sorry I missed your wedding; I was very busy."

"Yeah convincing him not to do what he did three days ago," Jasper said, nodding toward the window where outside he knew Carlisle was teaching him how to hunt. "I thought that you were going to guard the secret and keep your distance."

"He saw me one day watching him from the top of the football stadium on a cloudy day. Thought that it was a little strange that a cousin was watching him during football practice, intuitive little brat." She returned to where she had been watching out the window. "My sister tried passing me off as someone else, but no. No, he knew she was lying, told her that I looked like the pictures of his mom. Eventually I had to come out from the shadows."

"Wait a minute," I said. "He is really your son?"

"Yes, Bella, he is really my son, and he is a very pig-headed child, not that he's a child anymore."

"Why did he want to do this?" Edward questioned, crossing his arms.

"He wanted to be with me forever." She brushed her dark hair away from her eyes. "Forever mother and son. How sweet, right?"

Sarcasm dripped in her final three words.

"Gunnar is just another Bella to us," Jasper said as he leaned against the doorframe, a smile tugging at his lips. "Stubborn."

"I try my best," I said, playfully glaring at my brother-in-law. "So why come to us? I'm sure that you could handle this on your own."

"Well, I don't mean to sound so harsh in saying this, but the day you turn your only son from mortal to immortal, you call me up and tell me how you feel."

"How old are you?" The question lacked respect, but I didn't care. "You seem to be so controlled, but you don't seem to be very old."

"I'm still a young vampire," Matilda muttered, "I was turned in nineteen eighty-three by a particularly cruel vampire named Vincent. In four hundred years of his existence, he wanted me, and he was so convincing in his human charade that I fell for his flirtations, but I wouldn't agree to date him.

"The two of us worked in one of the hospitals in St. Louis. He worked nights in the morgue and I worked on the maternity floor as a nurse. Carlisle had worked there, too, at one point, but he had left very suddenly and shortly before Vincent arrived. Almost immediately, Vincent made the other employees uncomfortable, and despite the fact that he made me uncomfortable, I still enjoyed talking to him. He was a very interesting individual."

"Gee, that sounds vaguely familiar," Edward said, rolling his eyes in my direction. "With the exception of discomfort."

"I told him repeatedly that I wasn't interested in getting involved with anyone at that time, because I had newborn twins at home and they needed me more than I needed a relationship. He kept saying that it was okay, that he would convince me soon to see him one night, but I blew it off because at the time, I was still getting past my husband leaving me in between a rock and a hard place. He came to me about seven weeks before Gun and Jinesa came and told me that he had to leave, that he didn't want the baby, that our baby couldn't replace the two older children that he already had and that he was moving closer to them. He disappeared, and the situation put me under so much stress that I ended up having the babies four weeks early.

"The twins were six months old just a few days before my twenty-fifth birthday, and because I was a single mother, I attempted in vain to fit in as many shifts as I could so that when a shift opened up on my birthday, I took full advantage. I dropped them off with my younger sister, Anamaria, and headed to work, not knowing it would be the last time that I would ever see my children as a human. It was a nice, normal shift, with the exception of having to deliver a baby on my own because the doctor was busy getting busy, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right in the air, like something bad was going to happen to me when I was going home that night. I called my sister and clocked out. We weren't allowed to park close to the entrance, which for me had never been a problem if you didn't work alongside a vampire that happened to have the hots for you.

"I was halfway to my car when six guys came out of nowhere and attacked me. They shoved me into their car and took off saying that I was pretty enough to eat. One by one, they raped me, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't fight them because there were just too many of them. When they were done, they dumped me off, leaving me for dead, and that's when he found me.

"Vincent had always seemed to be a very kind person, but as a vampire, he was evil. He took me to an abandoned building and turned me without telling me what was going on. I screamed like Gunnar has for the last few days. I begged him to kill me, and I remember that he told me that the price he paid for me was high, and he wouldn't allow a trophy like me to simply die, and in three days time, I stood for the first time as a vampire before my creator. He had provided my first meal for me. A child that was no older than thirteen, and I didn't know what I was doing. I killed him before I could think. At the time I was turned, Vincent said that he would do anything for me, that he loved me more than anything. He did not prepare himself for how stubborn I was going to be.

"I refused the hunt and informed him of my intentions to die. I told him that I would rather die than knowingly hunt innocent people. For a year, he brought me homeless men and women. I refused to kill them, which angered him. He would kill them for me and force me to drink their blood, and I fought him the whole time. I would only drink enough to keep myself strong enough to fight him, but I wouldn't feed until I was full.

"One day after I refused to kill a young pregnant woman, he snapped. She got away, thank God, but I wasn't free. He drug me to the outside of my sister's home. I hadn't fed in nearly a week, but the thirst was not enough to make me kill. Become like him, as he had told me once.

"Anamaria was making dinner when she cut herself with a knife. Her blood smelled incredible, but I fought the urge to break through the kitchen window and massacre her. Then I saw them, they were walking and chattering away in a language that nobody knew except for them. I knew that no matter what I had become, I couldn't kill them. I didn't care that behind me was a four hundred year old vampire, I would not hurt them, and somehow I knew that even if I ran, he wouldn't hurt them either because in some sick twisted way, he loved me. So I ran from him. I returned to the abandoned warehouse where I had lived for over a year with him. I found a lighter and gathered around enough trash and debris around me fully intending to kill myself. I was ready for him when he finally came through the window, and it was unmistakable that he was angry with me. He demanded to know why I was denying myself what was so natural to our kind. Why I couldn't just kill them and let go of my past, my feeling and love for them.

"I demanded why he did this to me, and the son of a bitch stood there and laughed at me. I felt the rage building in me. He had purposely put my sister and my children in danger for his pleasure. I snapped. I tore him limb for limb and set him on fire. I don't know how I did it, seeing as I was weak and had not fed. The flames tore through the building, and for a moment, I considered staying, but something told me to make a run for it, so I did.

"I hunted through the forest, killing what I could. I killed squirrels at first, believing that nobody would miss a squirrel, but eventually, I had to make my way up the food chain. I made it to Alaska, and that is when I met Edward and Alice while they were out hunting. They brought me to Carlisle, and to say the least, I was shocked at what he was. From there on, I learned to hunt animals and control my thirst. In two years, I believed that I was safe that I could return to society and be fine. At the time, Gunnar and my daughter, Jinesa, were nearing their fourth birthday, and I was dying to see them, even if it was from a distance. Jasper agreed to go with me. We sat outside their window for days and hunted in the woods near their home while my sister was at work and they were with the sitter.

"I had learned that after I hadn't come to get them, my sister had launched a search for me. In the three years that I was missing, she had people continuously tell her that I was dead and never coming back. At first they helped her look for me, but after eighteen months, the people that were helping her abandoned her and left her on her own. She never abandoned hope that I was still out there. One night, I slipped through the window to watch my children sleep."

"As much as I didn't want her to," Jasper muttered shaking his head an almost pained expression on his face. He still had a bloodlust, but he had always managed to control his urges.

"Sure enough, I was caught. I don't know how I missed it, but my sister was right there sleeping in a rocking chair holding a photograph of me from the day they were born. She woke just as I got through the window. I almost ran, but I couldn't do it. I explained everything to her and told her that I would have come sooner, but I was facing the worst demons in the face of the world, and couldn't come near them. From that point, she agreed to raise the kids in my absence with the promise from me that I would help her with expenses. I told her that I would stay close by, just in case she ever needed me. I could intervene as a cousin. Jasper made me promise to keep my distance and keep the secret. I told him to return to Alice.

"I made only a few appearances for twelve years, but Gunnar had me all figured out by the time he was sixteen, and begged me to change him for his eighteenth birthday. Naturally, I refused and bought him and his sister each a car for graduation. Jinesa was just as intuitive, but she didn't want to get as close to me. She saw me for what I was, a monster, and I accepted that from her, because she was right. I left the area and moved east, trying to get a distance between Gunnar and me, but he followed me. He begged me to change him, and I refused. I allowed him to move into my apartment. He has been posing as my younger brother now for years.

"Then four days ago, he told me that he was going to leave me forever. I told him that I was okay with that; it would be safer. I went to work that night, hoping that he would leave. I prayed that he would give up this fascination of staying with me forever as my companion. I worked until after four in the morning and when I finally went home, I caught the scent of fresh blood, and from there, the rest is history."

"You're angry with him?" Alice whispered.

"Wouldn't you be?" Matilda questioned.

"I know how you feel, Mattie," Edward was at her side patting her on the shoulder. "Bella was relentless on me turning her. Eventually, I had to."

"I didn't pester you from the time I was sixteen until a few days ago, at least. How old were you when you were turned?"

"Twenty-five, and for the last twenty years, I have isolated myself from other vampires. I went back, assumed the name Matilda Jane Carlisle, and started going to school again. I got my masters in education and my masters in American and European history, but then I never used them. Instead, I rebelled, started doing all the things I couldn't do when I was alive. I worked in tattoo parlors and in strip clubs, among a few other things, but never used the two degrees I worked hardest on and then never reused my nursing license. Now, I'm back to using my maiden name, and for the first time, I want to settle back into a normal swing."

"Don't forget the Playboy!" Emmett called from the stairs. Matilda shook her head, almost looking ashamed.

"Oh God, please tell me he burned it," she mumbled to Edward.

"Nope, just keeps it hidden from Rosalie." Alice smiled as Matilda put her hands over her face. I was certainthat if it were possible for a vampire to blush, Matilda would be the color of fresh spilled blood.

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_**OK there is Chapter 2. Reviews would be nice ladies and gents. I'm not giving up.**_

_**I have created a new myspace account for when I post pictures of things related to my story which is helpful for the people like me who love to be visual. The account is /twilightshatteredglass . Send me a friend request and I will send you messages when I update.**_

**Forever,**

**Fallen Angel of Hell**


	4. Invitation

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:**Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** Me own Twilight? Why yes... Okay I don't just read.

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**Chapter Three**

**Invitation**

_"Even as the cell is the unit of the organic body, so the family is the unit of society."__ Ruth Nanda Anshen_

Three weeks had passed since Matilda and Gunnar had arrived on our doorstep, and surprisingly enough, all was still well. Edward and I agreed to bring Nessie home within seventy-two hours after Gunnar's transformation was completed. Despite his recent change, he was a sweet, young man and swore that he would never harm anyone unless he had a good reason too. However, Edward saw it fit to threaten him just in case he got any weird ideas.

Nessie seemed captivated by Matilda so much that she almost refused to come to me or Edward. She would sit perfectly content in Matilda's lap showing her everything that she had experienced in her two years from her birth to the Volturi to the day the two visitors arrived on our doorstep. The two would sit entertained for hours at a time. The only time it frustrated us was when it was time for her to eat or go to sleep. There were times that I should have felt jealous by their bond, but I couldn't.

Being a mother herself, Matilda was only too happy to help us in getting her to leave her alone. Edward would call her phone, and she would say that she had to take some very important calls from her home. Today, when she and Edward had gone to do this, and Nessie showed her images of Gunnar and Matilda staying. For several moments, Matilda was shocked and tried to explain that she and Gunnar would not be staying forever. Nessie was upset by her statement to say the very least. She ran into my waiting arms sobbing and showed me images of the two leaving and never coming back.

"You didn't have to tell her that," I told Matilda quietly after Nessie was down for a nap. She looked at me her eyes filled with guilt.

"I didn't want to, but you guys aren't going to want me and Gun around forever," she replied, pulling her shoulder length hair back into a ponytail. "Besides, I keep thinking that I am just getting in the way of the two of you parenting, and I know that she misses that wolf friend of yours. What was his name again? For a photographic memory, I am horrible with names."

I couldn't help but to laugh at her. She seemed so genuine that it was sweet.

"Jacob and you aren't getting in the way, Nessie just has a way with people, and I think that you are her kind of people." I patted her shoulder and remembered something Nessie had showed me. "What is it that you do for a living at the moment?"

"I'm a dancer." She smiled, leaning against the wall. "The fun, exotic kind. I showed Nessie when she asked a few days ago when she was showing me what all of you guys do during your sleepless nights and endless days."

"She didn't see anything of you naked, did she?" There was a degree of panic in my voice. It was now Matilda's turn to laugh at me.

"Of course not, she has only seen my practice rounds on the pole." Edward had been the first to warn me that Matilda and Nessie shared a common gift for exchanging memories, but that wasn't her only gift. Not only could she see and share the past, she could see the future and read your thoughts. It was like having Edward, Nessie, and Alice all rolled up and packaged into one being. The door downstairs swung open and we heard Emmett and Rosalie come in.

"What about seeing Mattie naked?" Emmett appeared in the door to the living room with a large smile plastered across his goofy face. "Because she has a lovely figure."

"Nothing," the two of us replied to him in unison.

"Oh, darn, I guess I will just have to dig that magazine back out and imagine," Emmett said, glancing back at his wife who was taking up stance to slap him. "I'm kidding. I got rid of that last week when Gunnar caught me with it reading one of the articles. Protective child you have there."

"Hey, I did that shoot nearly ten years ago, and I have regretted it ever since because my son called me up and chewed me out for nearly an hour, telling me that his friends were bringing pictures of him mom to school and sharing them with him," she said in a tone only a mother would have. "Naturally, they didn't know that I was his mother, but that isn't the point. It embarrassed him."

"Ouch," Rosalie muttered. "Can't say that could be a comfortable situation, to say the very least."

"No, it wasn't," Gunnar muttered appearing in the door way holding a gallon of blood. "I got suspended four times in one semester for getting into fights during my senior year. Aunt Ana threatened to put me in privet school for my final semester."

"That isn't Nessie's, is it?" I asked eying the jug.

"No, I learned last time when your child jumped me," he capped the jug off. "Mom showed me what she does at home, though, and I figured since she and I are going to be staying together, I should adopt the practice."

"You store the blood?" Rosalie sounded disgusted.

"I go hunt up in Canada with an older car, and gather up everything I need to last me so I don't have to leave again for at least a month. If I run out in between hunts I lure squirrels."

"Why didn't Carlisle ever think of that?" Emmett asked Rosalie curiously.

"Because we just don't do that. We have canine visitors who come raid our refrigerator who don't want to look at thirty galleons of blood." I half laughed at Rosalie. "He gets squeamish just looking at a couple of them. Just imagine if we had more than that?"

"Wait, are you sticking up for Jacob?" I teased her.

"The Mutt grows on you after a while. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower," she muttered, sniffing her hair, which smelled heavily of motor oil. As she walked past me, I could see why she smelled like oil. There were several splotches of black in her pretty, blonde hair.

"And what have I told you about drinking straight from the jug?" Matilda scolded slapping her son in the back of the head. "Your aunt didn't raise you to do that at home, and it isn't going to be tolerated here either."

"See how mean she is to me?" Gunnar flashed a handsome smile and retreated to the kitchen.

"I'm not mean yet; you haven't seen mean young man." She smiled evilly rubbing her hands together. "I just hope that you're ready to head home next week."

My mind returned to the conversation that she and I had been having several minutes before.

"You're planning on leaving next week?"

"Bella, I have to get back to work." She sounded disappointed to be sharing this bit of news. "My boss has called me every day for the last three weeks, demanding to know when I am coming back. We have to go."

"No, you don't." I sounded almost desperate to hold onto someone that I barely knew. "You should stay with us and join the family."

"I can't do that." She smiled. "I don't want to get in the way of the famous Cullen family. Besides, the two of us will be more like a tenth and eleventh wheel. A family of that size would attract way too much attention."

"Nonsense, Matilda," Carlisle's voice said softly, "I look at you as if you were my own child."

"Ok, that's awkward, Carlisle, seeing as age wise we are only something like two years apart, and technically, I am older." She smiled sweet. "I'm more like the big sister that you never had."

"That could be what we run as," he suggested. "Brother and sister. Gunnar can be your twin since he is the same age as you are."

"Yeah, Mom, that sounds like a great idea," Gunnar had reappeared at her side bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He would have been the perfect image of an overgrown child if his eyes were not still the color of blood, but that color was beginning to fade quickly. Soon his eyes would be gold like everybody else's. "I like this family, and let's face it—Nes wouldn't understand if I walked through the door for Christmas and told her that I couldn't eat normal food anymore. Aunt Ana and Uncle Gavin would be more likely to accept my new lifestyle because of you, don't you think? Or do you think they are going to freak out?"

"You should have thought about that," she spat, her words dripping with acid. "Have you thought of what you are even going to tell your sister or your aunt and uncle?"

"No." His eyes flitted to his black Nike's. Matilda sighed, her eyes darting back and forth between Carlisle, I, and her own flesh and blood.

"Let me think about it Carlisle," she muttered. "I just don't want to attract too much attention to you all. I know you have been guarding yourselves so well for the past century since your family began growing."

"Please don't take too long, Esme is already considering floor plans for the little house we are going to build for the two of you," Carlisle smiled widely as he began to walk away.

"What?" Matilda hurried after him. It was no secret that the entire family loved Matilda. To them she was another sister and friend. Emmett loved to tease her, which took some of the attention that he often gave me away, something that I was beyond okay with. She took it in stride, though, one day, when she had been feeling especially edgy, she pushed Emmett out one of our open windows on the third floor, and said, "Whoops, good thing you can't die."

Alice came bouncing in, a Cheshire cat grin plastered across her small lovely features. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Has she agreed to stay yet?" she said excitedly. Leave it to Alice to get excited about the prospect of adding to the family, but judging by her bounciness, she knew that Matilda was going to agree to stay, and no doubt, her excitement was because she was going to help decorate the small house that Carlisle and Esme would be starting to build soon.

"Not yet, but I'm sure that it won't take long for her to say yes," I said, and Alice began to squeal with delight. "Chill, Alice, you'll wake Nessie."

"No, I won't!" Alice ran out of the room and right into Gunnar, who was looking around from the kitchen doorway. She hugged him and ran off, leaving the six foot two dark haired man looking very confused.

"What's going on? Why is the pixie jumping up and down like she just drank the blood of a speed addict?" he asked me, picking at a loose string on his black button up.

"Ask your mother." I smiled at him and patted him gently on the arm. "But I think you and your mom might be stuck with us for a good long while."

He grinned and started to head in the same direction his mother had chased after Carlisle. If Alice was right, the family was going to be huge, and I was certain that Jake wouldn't be happy that we were adding more to our clan. After all, he was just getting used to my family, and now he would have two more to get used to. Then I thought about Seth and Leah; they were supposed to visit in a week. I wondered what they would say. It was likely Seth would be okay with the whole thing, considering out of the three shape shifters that followed our family, he seemed to be the most accepting out of all of them. Leah tolerated us because she wanted to make sure Jake and Seth were okay. Jake knew that there had been another one of us that was here when Edward brought Nessie to him. We waited until Nessie had been back home a few days before we informed him that the one who joined us was plus one newborn.

Jake had naturally began to worry about Nessie and her safety, and Edward and I had assured him that she was fine; the newcomer wouldn't ever dream of harming a hair on her head. They hadn't met, but if Matilda and Gunnar did stay, then their meeting would be inevitable.

I caught a familiar scent in the air, and made my way down to the door. _Speak of the devil, and he shall come,_ I thought quietly to myself. I could smell Jake in the air. He was supposed to have been here earlier this morning, but he had been called in to work. He was working at one of the local auto shops in the city, and for once, he was getting good money for the skills he had put to good use pro bono once upon a time.

I opened our front door to meet the warm brown eyes of my favorite wolf, and eventually, if everything went well, my future son-in-law. His scent no longer bothered me, and I could only hope that mine no longer bothered him as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He smelled strongly of soap, sweat, and the familiar scent of wolf. I looked behind him and saw that the old Volkwagon Rabbit was parked among our collection of cars.

"Hey, Bells, how's Nessie?" he asked, pulling away from me.

"She's taking a nap as far as I know." I led him into our home. "She's had a long day so far. Mattie was teaching her how to knit this morning. At first, it wasn't going well, but then she started getting the hang of it."

"How are the new leaches?"

"Jake," I said warningly. It was one thing for him to call us leaches, but I didn't know how Gunnar and Matilda would handle it. They hadn't met Jake yet, and despite the fact they knew what he was, I was still nervous about their meeting.

"Fine, Carlisle, but I still have to go back and get my stuff. And you are going to need a bigger garage," Matilda was saying while walking backwards into the entrance hall and incidentally bumping into Jake. She stumbled slightly and turned around with a light smile painted across her face. "You must be Jake; it's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

"Um... uh... yeah," he stuttered as he held his hand out to meet hers, "and you're Matilda?"

"That would be me." She leaned in a little and looked curiously into his eyes. "I thought Rosalie said he was cockier than this."

"What?" I asked, mouth open with the shock that Rosalie and Mattie were even talking about Jacob.

"Well, the Blondesucker and I don't always get along." He smiled. "Speaking of, where is she? I have a new one for her."

"I don't think she's heard that one." Mattie smiled. "I don't think that we are going to have any issues at all getting along, Jake. Please, call me Mattie. Everybody else does. Now, have you seen Jasper? He has my car keys, and I just want to go for a drive right now. All the excitement in the air is giving me a migraine."

"We don't get migraines, and I think he is by the pond." I glanced out the window toward the fishpond. Jasper had been walking around it not long before, but I was certain that he was swimming now. He enjoyed patronizing the fish. Mattie strolled out the door, muttering a polite goodbye before she ran across the yard.

"Is that her car out there? The Charger?"

"Yeah, freaked Edward out when he saw it the first time a few weeks ago." The two of us made our way to the living room and sat down opposite each other on the matching sofas. "Apparently when she left the first time, she didn't drive at all because she was scared to. Actually, I think Edward told me there for a while she didn't even want to go near cars. She suffered from a form of Vampiric Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I guess she's okay now."

"Sweet car," was the only thing he could say.

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_Wow I didn't realize how short this chapter was until I uploaded it. Hey I've have over fifty hits for this story and only twilight-is-lovee has reviewed me. Come on guys give me some feedback!! I've been having a really bad week and I would love to have a pick me up from you guys. I promise the next chapter is a little bit longer and I still have plenty of chapters stashed away over here._

_**Forever,**_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell  
**_


	5. Unexpected

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight. A few things would be different if I did. Okay a lot of things would be different.

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** Chapter Four**

** Unexpected**

"_The road to a friend's house is never long."__ - Danish Proverb_

It was a Friday when Leah and Seth arrived in Hanover. Jake picked them up from the bus depot while I was in class, and once my final class ended, I made my way over to his apartment. Leah was her same, old, negative self, but Seth was nearly having convulsions from the minute I had walked through the door. I hadn't seen them in a year, which was far too long for Jacob to go without contact from the rest of his pack, though he had gone home for a few weeks the previous winter to spend Christmas with his family. Edward had every intention to fly them out, but they wouldn't agree to fly, so we sent them bus tickets, and Jake spent two weeks convincing them to come. They had agreed to come spend part of their spring break with us.

"So, how are the new bloodsuckers?" Leah asked, eying me suspiciously for some reason.

"Leah!" Jake said in a very warning tone. I patted his arm gently.

"Mattie is very sweet, a bit scatterbrained at times, but she is a sweetheart. Her son, Gunnar, is pretty nice, too; keeps to himself most of the time, but Emmett seems to be getting him to come out of his shell more and more every day."

"He's reclusive?" Seth asked.

"Well, he had his first human scare. He, Jasper, and Emmett were out hunting about a week ago, Gunnar smelled a group of humans about a mile away hiking, and I'm guessing that somebody fell because they all smelled blood. Gun went nuts. It took a lot of strength, but Jasper and Emmett were able to redirect him back home. After that, he started to turn into a recluse, but like I said, Emmett is getting him back out of his shell."

"Mattie has a really nice car," Jake interjected in a vain attempt to change the conversation. "Brand new Dodge Charger with more bells and whistles than you can ever possibly imagine."

"Really?" Seth nearly shouted in excitement.

"Oh yeah, it's a beauty." Jake started staring off dreamily. "Then again, it seems like all the vampires that establish themselves in one place for a while have nice cars."

"Jake, what are we doing for dinner?" Leah muttered, almost irritated.

"We're going to the Cullens," he grinned. "Mattie can cook like you will not ever believe. Nothing incredibly fancy, but it is really good."

"I don't want to go over there tonight!" Leah hissed. "I don't want to be around some strange bloodsuckers, and I certainly don't want to eat their food."

I should have been insulted, but I had too much experience since Leah had been around us. At this point, her outbursts no longer fazed me. They still bothered Edward a bit, but even he was beginning to get used to them. Though I wasn't entirely sure how he would be now since he hadn't been around her in a year. At this point, I knew that Leah would be Leah, and Jacob didn't care because he knew despite the fact that the food did in fact smell a bit strange because there were vampires doing all of the preparations, it was always good.

My phone buzzed lightly in my lap. I picked it up, and glanced at the tiny screen. There was bright white with small black letters, and I saw that Edward was calling.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Are they there? Did they make it okay?" Alice's voice came through excitedly.

"Alice, why are you calling from Edward's phone?" I asked, chuckling to myself.

"Mattie took mine away and told me that you guys would be here when you got here!" she laughed, and I heard Mattie in the background jokingly yelling at her to give up the phone and nobody would get hurt.

"I'm sure that we'll be leaving Jake's soon," I told her, "but I think we might be minus one."

"Minus one?" I heard Edward ask in a very irritated tone.

"Am I on speaker phone?"

"Yes! Now why are we going to be minus one?" Alice sounded disappointed. "Did somebody not come?"

"No, Alice," Jake said loudly so that the receiver would pick it up. "Leah is being difficult."

"Did you catch that?" I asked.

"Oh well, more for Nessie, Jake, and, oh crap," Mattie paused for a moment, "Seth?"

"Yep that would be the name you're looking for." I smiled. "We'll be headed home soon. I think Seth might explode if we wait much longer. He really wants to see everybody."

"Okay, love." Edward had managed to get the phone from Alice, and taken me off speakerphone. "Be careful on the way home. I love you."

"I love you, too," I said quietly, though I don't know why. "We'll be there soon."

I hung up, smiling. Since Mattie had arrived, Alice had become more hyper than usual. She told me once that Mattie was like having a twin, but she didn't know how. I had a feeling it was because Mattie could see the future too. I stood and looked around at the three shape shifters. Jake and Seth followed suit.

"Ready?" I asked. Jake and Seth nodded enthusiastically, but Leah eyed me menacingly before getting to her feet.

"I guess it's better than going to hunt," she mumbled. "And God only knows what Jake has in his kitchen."

"So glad you could come to your senses," Jake mocked as Leah's stomach rumbled loudly. "Or at least your stomach could come to its senses.

"Let's just get this over with," she hissed in Jake's direction.

The drive from town to our house out in the country took just a little over twenty minutes, ten if I drove fast, but considering I was carrying three beings that could get hurt in a possible accident, I drove just slightly over the speed limit. Edward made fun of me the first time I started going faster than the posted speed limit, but we were running late, and I hated to run late. Why we were late, I didn't explain to Carlisle that day, but you might say we were a bit busy.

I pulled the Volvo into the lengthy driveway that led to our house, parked next to Mattie's Charger, and checked over the line of cars. Carlisle and Esme were already gone for the night; they were going up to Quebec for the weekend not only to hunt, but to enjoy some time away. Seth's jaw dropped as he looked up at the four-story glass house that stood before him. Carlisle and Esme loved their house in Forks so much that when they commissioned this house to be built, they wanted an identical house with one more story added. It took six months to build. They had a small two-bedroom built, as well, for Edward, Nessie, and I that was tucked away in the tree line.

"It looks just like the one in Forks," Seth stated bluntly. "I always thought that was a pretty house."

"Yeah, let's get in before Alice comes flying out here and bowls you over." I started walking up the sidewalk.

The house smelled amazing due to Mattie's cooking. I smelled fried chicken, potatoes, and peas. Leah's nose wrinkled in disgust as she walked in. Alice was the first to greet us, pulling Seth into a hug. I heard Mattie and Edward telling Nessie to stay at the table with Rosalie and Emmett.

"Hi!"

"Well, hello to you, too, Alice!" Seth laughed as he wrapped his arms around Alice in a tight hug. Mattie appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on the black apron she had bought while picking up the food in town today.

"Hey, guys," she said, smiling, "dinner's ready. I hope you brought your appetites."

She grinned brightly at her last statement, surely remembering the first time she had cooked for just Jake and Nessie. She had made a large Crockpot of taco soup, and Jake had willingly helped himself to three very large bowls and jokingly declared that he would marry her for her wonderful cooking.

Leah glared at her.

"No need to think such things, Leah," she said coolly. "It won't kill you no matter who made it."

"She reads minds?" Leah glared over at me. "Why didn't you warn me and Seth?"

"Didn't think to," I replied. "Edward didn't tell me that she was a mind reader either until I noticed that it looked like she and Edward seemed to be having a very silent conversation two days after her arrival. Shall we?"

Leah huffed slightly and followed Jake and her brother into the dining room. Emmett and Rosalie were seated at one end of the large mahogany twelve seat table that Esme had restored a month after moving here. Nessie sat, bouncing a little as she waited for Jake to take his normal seat next to her. He picked up her plate and looked at her jovial expression.

"Which piece do you want, Ness?" he asked quietly, starting to place a scoop of mashed potatoes and peas on her plate.

"Guess," she giggled musically. I would never get over her giggle. It was so innocent, carefree, and loving.

"Alright, Squirt." He poked around the large pile of the freshly fried chicken. "Drumstick?"

"No," she bounced a little in her seat as she answered. Leah and Seth sat across from Jake and Nessie. Jake signaled for them to wait a moment before they started putting food on their own plates. We took our seats on the other side of Nessie. Mattie stood behind us for a minute before sitting between Emmett and me.

"Wing?"

"No."

"Thigh?"

"No."

"Oh, you little troublemaker, you want the breast, don't you?"

"Yes!" she said in glee.

"You are so not fair." He sighed in defeat as he put a large chicken breast on her plate, and handed it to her before he started putting food on his own plate.

"There should be three more in there, Jake," Mattie assured. "I made two whole chickens and supplemented that with some extra legs and thighs. I know your appetite by now, and I'm just hoping that your friends have the same."

Edward chuckled next to me.

"She always manages to take his favorite piece, doesn't she?" he asked. I nodded in agreement. "Then again, she is quite proud of herself. She helped Mattie make dinner tonight."

"Really?" I asked in surprise. Mattie had talked about teaching her how to cook as a fun activity for the two of them, but the thought of my little girl standing around hot popping grease actually frightened me.

"She wasn't near the stove, Bella," Mattie assured from behind me, "but she was very insistent on helping me tonight. She helped me get the chicken coated, and she mashed the mashed potatoes. I'm a mother, too, you know, and I wouldn't have let my kids near the stove."

I smiled at her as she patted my shoulder. Alice and Jasper sat down at the other side of Jake at the table smiling at Nessie.

"Is it good, Jakey?" Nessie beamed with excitement. Jacob to another large bite, chewed, and swallowed. His food was already nearly half-gone. Seth seemed to be quite happy with the food, as well, as he prepared to help himself to a second round.

"Of course it is," Seth said as he looked over at Leah, who was eying the food with malice. "Quit being so picky, Leah. Mattie and Nessie worked very hard to make this dinner for us. I'm sure that you really don't want to hurt Nessie's feeling."

"Hmph." Leah began to put a few pieces of chicken on her plate along with the mashed potatoes, but didn't put any peas on it. Jake had told me once that she didn't like peas, but he'd like to see her get away with not having any with Mattie around, who had smacked him once gently in the back of the head for not eating any broccoli. Now, when he had dinner with Nessie, he was sure to take a decent sized portion of vegetables.

"Don't forget the veggies, Leah," he muttered, "Mattie is a mean momma."

"You guys need to set an example for Nessie, because we can't," I defended, staring at Leah, who had turned three shades of red already, as she put a small portion of peas on her plate. "We've only recently gotten her to eat human food. She doesn't always like it, but she'll eat it."

Mattie was smiling as she watched Nessie intently tearing at her piece of chicken with her fork. I was watching Mattie out of the corner of my eye. She looked like she was experiencing a very distant memory. Had she watched as her sister taught her children how to cook? She had been a vampire for nearly eight years when her kids were at Nessie's stage of development. It made me wonder.

Everyone around me was chattering happily away, catching up on the times. Seth was a senior in high school now, and Leah was still attending the local community college. The conversations blurred together, but I was fairly lost in my thoughts, however a loud belch interrupted them. I looked up to see that Seth was blushing furiously as he mumbled an excuse me.

"I am so stuffed!" Jake declared, rubbing his stomach. "Again, you outdo yourself, Mattie. If you weren't a vampire, I'd marry you."

"Ha, ha." She smiled. "I wouldn't touch marriage again with a fifty foot pole. I'm quite happy living the eternal bachelorette life. Not only that—I'm not divorced, and I don't know where he is, but I'm sure that my husband is still out there very much alive."

"Still no luck finding him?" Rosalie asked.

"No, not that I have been intently hunting for him either. Gunnar was looking for him though," she sighed. "He caught up with his older brother, Adam, about a year ago. As it turns out, Adam and Lisa haven't heard anything from their father either. He literally disappeared off of the face of the planet."

"Nessie, go upstairs and take a bath," Edward said quietly in our daughter's ear. Nessie excused herself from the table kissing everybody at the table on the cheek before she made her way out of the dining room and up the stairs.

"And go easy on the bubble bath this time!" I called after her, remembering the night before when she had poured so much of the liquid in the bathtub it took well over an hour for the suds to dissipate, leaving a very wet mess to clean up.

"Did you meet your husband after you were turned?" Seth asked, stretching.

"No," she said smiling. "I was married before I was turned, Seth. I had a beautiful pair of twins with him, too, so I guess he wasn't totally useless to me."

"You turned your son didn't you?" Leah questioned rudely.

"Leah," Jake and Seth hissed. Leah shot a glare between the two of them.

"It's okay guys," Mattie said leaning back in the chair. "I'm used to her bitterness by this point. Her mind has been going ninety to nothing since you told her to put the peas on her plate."

"Stay out of my mind," Leah hissed at Mattie.

"Then put muzzle on it young lady, or we will take it outside, and I'll teach you some manners the good ole fashioned way." She spoke in a tone that only a mother could have. Leah looked insulted, but yet again, Edward chuckled next to me.

"I've been waiting for that," he said. "Some things never change, huh, Mattie?"

"What do ya mean?"

"You switch to 'Mom mode' in a matter of seconds." He stood up, picking up Jake and Nessie's plates.

"Yeah, you're right some things never change, but her belligerent thoughts were getting insulting," she sighed softly, her eyes reverting back to Leah. "And to answer your question: yes, I turned my son. He didn't give me a choice. It was either turn him or allow him to die. With him being my child, I couldn't very well allow the latter choice. When you have children, you will know exactly what I'm talking about."

The two exchanged glares so cold, I was certain that the temperature in the room was going to drop. Jasper probably couldn't even help this situation, and I could tell that he was trying.

"Speaking of bad manners… where is Gunnar?" Emmett piped up trying to change the subject. Mattie dropped her murderous glare and turned to Emmett.

"I thought that you might know; the two of you are practically joined at the hip."

"There's a zipper, if you look closely." He grinned. I heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. "Oh, wait, I think I hear him now."

"I'm leaving," Leah spat, getting up from her chair and heading for the exit out of the dining room.

Unfortunately for Leah, she would be blocked from leaving. Gunnar had appeared in the doorway, and Leah stopped right in front of him. For the first time since her arrival, she didn't protest his being in her way. She just stared at him intently with more of a look of sheer curiosity.

"Oh my God," I heard Jake and Seth say in unison. I looked over at the two. Their jaws were open and their eyes were wide. I looked over at Edward, who seemed to mimic their expression as he turned to look at Leah and Gunnar, who were frozen in the doorway. Mattie stood up and faced the doorway herself. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper watched intently as if they were waiting for Leah to snap, but nothing happened. She stood there and Gunnar mimicked her.

"Why are you two saying, 'Oh my God'?" I asked.

"Because of what just happened," Edward replied looking over at Mattie, who had a severe look of panic on her face.

"What just happened?" Rosalie asked, her brows furrowing. I watched as Alice and Jasper's mouth dropped open, as though they, too, were realizing what was going on. If it were possible, it appeared as though Mattie might faint as Edward's eyes met hers.

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**Well there it is. My first cliffhanger of the story. I'm so proud of me. Well maybe not, but it's always fun. So far I have 7 reviews for this story, not as many as I could hope, but there is still time. I have a fun chapter coming out soon that I hope that you guys are going to like.  
**

**Thank You Keely Jade, Twilightlover, and twlight-is-lovee for beta as well as reviewing me. Thank you also to , FrequentlyDazzled917, Keely Jade, EnderACullen, and skyangel82 for putting me on their favorites and alert lists, but I would love to hear some feedback from you guys (Keely hon you're excluded because I have already pocketed your reviews!). **

**So I'm sure everybody knows the drill. So look below this note and hit Review this Story/Chapter. They are so appreciated and give me a little more hitch in my giddyup.**

_**Forever,**_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell**_


	6. The Imprint

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Disclaimer:** I sadly do not own Twilight, but I do own the two original characters and the plot which I had a dream about.

**AN:** Alas! The answer to the question that I have been asked at least four times!!

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**Chapter Five**

** The Imprint**

"_You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder."_

I hadn't caught it at first, but the way that Leah was looking at Gunnar was the same way that Sam looked at Emily, similar to the way Jake looked at Nessie. Leah had imprinted, and she hadn't just imprinted on any normal human. No, she had imprinted on a vampire.

Everybody stood, staring at Gunnar and Leah in disbelief. I believed in God, despite the fact that even before I was turned, I rarely attended a church service. In my mind, I started to think that God had a very twisted and sick sense of humor. Gunnar was a vampire. Leah was a shape-shifter. The idea of the two of them being together was almost blasphemous, but Leah was staring at Gunnar as though he was the only being in the room that ever mattered.

"It makes perfect sense now," Alice said, breaking the silence that had stretched over a good five minutes. "I haven't seen much of a future for him since he arrived, and now... I know why."

Edward and I looked at Alice, who was crossing her arms across her chest.

"You didn't see what, Alice?" Gunnar asked. He was staring intently into Leah's eyes.

"Your future. I didn't think you had one, but now I see why. You didn't have a future that I could see."

"Well, Gunnar, don't be rude." There was a slight quiver of annoyance in Mattie's voice. "Introduce yourself."

"You must be Leah. I'm Gunnar." He smiled and held out his hand. Leah shook it, not realizing what she was doing. She seemed to come out of her trance-like state.

"Yeah, I'm Leah," she said, her voice barely audible. Her eyes drifted to the floor. "I'm gonna go."

Like the gentleman that I'm sure Mattie's little sister, Anamaria, raised him to be, Gunnar moved aside to allow her to pass. A moment later, we heard as the door quickly opened and closed softly. I was certain that Leah was going to shift into her wolf form and run back to Jake's apartment, but I couldn't be so certain as I wasn't the mind reader in the family.

"Jake, Seth, you guys should go with her," Edward suggested. "I'm afraid we are going to have to cut the night short."

Jake nodded and nudged Seth to follow him. Seth stopped next to Mattie, who was sitting now, holding her head in her right hand. He touched her lightly.

"It'll be okay," he said, smiling, "and the food was amazing. I hope you can make dinner for us again."

Mattie looked up and her golden eyes met Seth's dark brown eyes. She smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said. Jake and Seth made their way to the front door and let themselves out. Mattie let out a slow easy breath and looked around at each of us. She didn't look angry—confused, perhaps, but not angry. "What happened between you two? You don't know her, do you, Gun?"

Gunnar shook his head and looked behind him for no apparent reason.

"Well the Quileute shape-shifters have something they call an imprint," Edward began to explain calmly. "Unless I am gravely mistaken, Leah has imprinted on your son. Odd, considering that those shape-shifters are our natural born enemies."

"Hey, that makes two off the wall imprints now," Jasper said thoughtfully. "Maybe Seth will get something off of someone we will meet down the road."

"What is an imprint, exactly? She was looking at me like she was going to jump me," Gunnar piped up, running his hand through his dark hair. "For a second there, I thought that I was going to have to make a run for it, but then she didn't do anything."

"It means, my man…" Emmett was at Gunnar's side, putting his arm around his shoulders as though they were old college buddies. "…that Miss Leah Clearwater wants you."

"Okay." Gunnar grinned widely, his eyes getting a somewhat far away stare. "Not the first time that somebody has wanted me like that."

"Um, well," I said finally, "it's more than just that, Gunnar. Imprinting is a concept that goes well beyond just sex, and I know that's what you're thinking, because I can see it written all over your face." I watched the wide grin disappear.

"So is she going to kill me?"

"No," Jasper mumbled, suppressing laughter.

"Okay, that makes me feel better."

"An imprint is a sort of mark that one of the Quileute shape-shifters gets after they see the person that they are supposed to spend the rest of their lives with," I said as I watched Gunnar's still red eyes widen.

"I..." He stopped at a loss for words. "I thought that they were supposed to be our natural enemies."

"Well, of course they are," Rosalie spat, "until Bella brought that stray Jacob into the picture, and Jacob brought with him a pack of dogs. Then, a couple of years ago, we had an enemy vampire with a rather large newborn army come after all of us, and we were forced to forge an alliance with them."

"The alliance should have ended there and then," Mattie said thoughtfully, "but obviously something didn't end that alliance."

"Well, the alliance for the most part fell apart." I sat next to Mattie, who looked at me with a face that was full of questions. "Edward and I set our wedding date, and Jake ran away for a long while. Seth kept in contact with all of us, though. He and Alice struck quite the friendship. At the wedding, Jake came back and asked me if Edward was going to turn me on our honeymoon, he left quite outraged, and Edward and I left for our honeymoon. Edward and I returned from our honeymoon in a rush, and that was when I was confirmedly pregnant with Nessie. Naturally, Jake thought, at that point, that I had been turned, so he ran to our house in Forks and found out that wasn't the case. He saw that I was pregnant, and he went back to the pack and told them about my condition.

"Their leader, Sam, wanted to storm the house and kill us, because he thought that Nessie would naturally be a monster, but Jake stopped him. He completely separated from the pack that day, Seth followed Jake because he liked us so much, and Leah followed Seth because that's her brother and she could never forgive herself if something happened to him. The three spent a couple of weeks running patrol around our house to make sure that Sam and the rest of the pack would not attack. I was turned after Nessie was born, at the permission of Jake."

"Permission? You had to have permission to turn your wife?" Mattie spat, suddenly outraged. "And I've been cooking for that—"

"I asked permission because Carlisle made a treaty with the Quileutes, and in that treaty, it was stated that no person would be bitten by one of us," Edward said, cutting her off. "I had to know that saving her life wouldn't end all of ours."

Mattie seemed to be calmed by this, and she returned her attention to my recollection.

"Anyhow," I resumed my recollection, "after my first hunt, I wanted to hold my daughter. I found Jake blocking my way to her, and at first, I thought that he was just trying to make sure that I wasn't going to kill her, because she is half human. However, that wasn't the entire truth. Jake had imprinted on her while I was changing. At first, I was angry, but now I'm okay with it. In time, I'm sure you will be, too."

"I don't care who he ends up with—" Mattie grinned at the thought. "—but I didn't expect it to be somebody with a pulse, now that he is one of us."

"Well, thanks, Mom," Gunnar muttered sarcastically, "what if, just like Bella and Edward's situation, I would have stumbled upon the perfect girl, and she was alive fifty years from today?"

"Ha," I laughed sarcastically. "Hopefully you'll know what you're doing by that point, but I think you will be stuck with Leah if you so choose."

"Okay." Gunnar shrugged and turned to make his way toward our game room. "I'm gonna go play Halo. Anyone want to join me?"

Jasper and Emmett followed, racing Gunnar through the house, toward the game room. Gunnar had introduced the two of them to probably the most violent game ever, but the three of them enjoyed playing it. Mattie would join in their spoils on occasion, but she openly admitted that she wasn't any good at the game play.

"He's taking that rather well, at least." Mattie leaned back casually in her chair, crossing her legs. "Nothing like meeting a total stranger for five seconds and being told this is the person that you are destined to spend the rest of your life with."

"Hey, at least he wasn't a newborn baby when the imprinting occurred," Edward said, smiling. He had told me that he didn't take to kindly to Jake's imprinting on Nessie, but he knew that if he had killed Jake before I came out of my transformation, I would never forgive him. At least we knew that no matter what, Jake would take care of Nessie with no questions asked.

"Again, all I have ever wanted was my children to be happy." Mattie smiled. "If Gunnar or Jinesa would have ever come to me and said, 'Mom I'm a gay trash truck driver, and I'm planning on adopting ten kids from foreign countries,' I would tell them that as long as they were happy, I didn't care."

"What if they killed people because it made them happy?" Alice asked with a hint of sarcasm. Mattie grinned wider than the Cheshire cat.

"Then I would ask them if they would enjoy spending the rest of their life as somebody's prison bitch."

Edward shook his head in disbelief. We sat for a few moments in silence before Alice declared that she was going to go join the boys and try her hand at Halo. Rosalie followed her. Mattie told us that she was going to wash the dishes. Edward and I made our way upstairs when we heard Nessie declare rather loudly that she was finished with her bath.

Nessie stood in the doorway to her bedroom in a pink nightgown, her long curly copper hair still damp from her bath. In her tiny hand, she held a book that Edward pulled gently from her to check the cover. It was the Phantom Tollbooth—a book that Alice had picked up for her earlier that week. She could read on her own, thanks to all of us teaching her, but she enjoyed being read to by Edward and me. She was a mere two and a half year old, but in body, she was developed to the size of a typical twelve year old, and her mind was already in her later teen years, but she still enjoyed us reading to her.

She lead the way to her plush, full-sized bed, and climbed under the pale purple comforter, waiting for us to join her. Edward climbed in on one side of her, and I climbed in on her other side, gently brushing away a damp curl from her perfect, childlike face. Her hand reached up for my face, and I saw an image of Jake, Leah, and Seth flash across my mind.

"They've gone back to Jake's," I said quietly. "I'm sure that they will be back tomorrow to play with you. Now, are you ready?"

She nodded silently, her face sad now. It wasn't normal for Jake to leave before she laid down for bed. The week that he was gone for Sam and Emily's wedding, she was actually depressed that he was gone. When he returned, she bit him so hard that Carlisle was certain that he would need to be stitched up until it healed completely within a few hours. Biting him was always his punishment from her, his punishment for being gone too long, without her knowing how he was doing. He promised her that if he ever had to go back to La Push again for any length of time, he would call her and email her every night before she went to bed. Since then, he was over every night and gone just after she had gone to bed. I was certain that his disappearance before his normal time would not go unnoticed.

"Are you ready?" Edward's voice whispered into her precious ear. She nodded settling farther into her squishy pillows. He opened the book and began reading from the first chapter. Nessie fell asleep after three and a half chapters, but she had started fighting sleep during the second chapter.

We slid ourselves from her bed and tucked her in kissing her lightly on the cheek. Her hand flew up to my face, and I saw that tonight, she was dreaming of cooking. It looked like she was making a cake, carefully measuring out the flour and sugar and dumping them into bowls. I kissed her fingertips lightly and followed Edward out of the room. Half of the time, she slept in her bedroom in the main house, and the other half of the time, she slept in our little house. The arrangement was not discussed with either of us. Nessie had made up her mind when the houses were built.

"I wonder when she will start aging normally," I told Edward quietly as we walked downstairs.

"Carlisle said that she has slowed down her aging considerably in the last few months," Edward said, taking my hand in his. "I estimate that she is now aging a year every six months."

"I do, too." I smiled, squeezing his hand. We turned into the living room, where Mattie was laying on the couch with a book held over her face.

"Hey, guys, want to go do something fun tomorrow?" she asked with her eyes unwavering from the pages of her book. Jasper, Gunnar, and Emmett appeared in the other doorway. "Carlisle and Esme are supposed to be back tomorrow, and I'm sure they will want to spend some time with Nessie."

"Like what?" Emmett asked, sounding almost excited.

"I don't know," she muttered, "paint balling, perhaps?"

"That sounds like fun, actually," Gunnar said, bouncing a little. "Guys versus girls."

"Think Jake and Seth would be up for it?" Edward asked me.

"Who knows?" I said, crossing my arms. "I could head over to Jake's apartment and find out. Leah might be having a meltdown though."

"I'm sure she is." Emmett laughed a little. "If she would just get her panties out of a twist, maybe for once in her life, she would have a bit of fun. She just needs to learn how to go with the flow. Like me."

"I doubt it, but invite her too," Mattie suggested lazily, flipping a page in her book. "Wouldn't want my future daughter-in-law to feel left out."

"I've never paint balled," I said simply.

"Thank God!" Jasper declared. "Edward would have a conniption at the mere thought of you bruising when you were human, but now you are indestructible, and you are so going down."

"I didn't say I wanted to do it, but when you put it that way, game on." I grinned. He held out his hand for me to shake. We shook on it, grasping each other's hands tightly. "You are out of your mind if you think that I'm going to lose to you, Jasper."

"Like I'm scared of you." Jasper grinned.

"Come on, Edward," I said, starting to make my way outside. "Let's see how bad Leah is freaking out, and invite them to tomorrow's fun."

"Okay." He followed closely behind me. I tossed him the keys to the Volvo. We climbed in and headed off into the night. Edward drove at nearly a hundred miles per hour, whipping through the curves on the road so quickly and smoothly you'd think that they were a figment of your imagination.

"How was class today?" he asked.

"Not too bad," I replied, reaching for his hand. "It's a lot easier, now that I have a photographic memory. Is Mattie always this random?"

"She can be." He chuckled. "At first, when I met her, she was very serious, and over the course of the two years she stayed with us, at first she lightened up some, brought out the fun sides we had. Now she's so light hearted, almost a breath of fresh air compared to what she used to be like. She still has her moments, as you have seen, where she is all business and no play, but for the most part, I think she's just learned to be like Emmett and goes with the flow. She's still obsessive compulsive as far as I can tell."

"An OCD vampire," I laughed, "and I thought I had heard it all by this point."

"She means well, Bella." He squeezed my hand.

"I know, but I just have a feeling that a lot of what she does is just a really good front," I mumbled thoughtfully, "like at any moment something is going to trip her switch, and she is going to snap."

He slowed the car as we approached the city limits, and turned on the street leading to Jake's apartment. We parked in front of the building, but did not get out. The lights in Jake's apartment glowed their bright yellow-orange light and we could see shadows moving on the inside. My guess had been right.

"I don't know," he said, pondering his next words. "She can be thoroughly unpredictable. After all, only a couple of years with us, and she had already felt ready to rejoin people. I was against the idea, but Carlisle seemed okay with it, but I don't know why she took Jasper with her."

"It's strange," I whispered.

"What is, Love?"

"You guys act different around her. Well…" I paused, searching for words that made sense to what I was thinking. I sighed as the right words came to me. "It just seems like her being around makes some of our best qualities come out magnified."

"You noticed that too?" He smiled. "I don't know what it is about her; she's like a little bubble of energy that not even Alice could touch, and she's slightly less annoying."

"How long did it take her to gain control over herself?"

"I think she is like you, Bella." He leaned back in his seat. "Of course, I cannot be certain, because I haven't known her since day one, but the story she told you the first day she really met you is consistent. Since she was born into this life, she has always been in total control, except for that one time when she came out of the change."

"Gunnar seemed in total control as well," I reminded him, remembering when Gunnar rose on the third day before Carlisle and I.

"Perhaps he prepared himself like you prepared yourself," he said thoughtfully, "but unlike you and Mattie, at the moment, he lacks the discipline around humans. Mattie was exposed within days after her first victim, and she refused, and you were exposed to Charlie so soon after, and you didn't seem interested. I don't know how they developed it, but I wish that they could teach Jasper."

"Well, he even seems so at ease with her."

"They feed off of each other, so to speak. If one is calm, the other is calm. If one is mad, the other is mad. Alice thought that perhaps they were having an affair, but Jasper assured her that he couldn't look at Mattie in any sexual manner. To him, she was nothing more than just a sister and Alice loved her no matter what her theories were at any given time."

"Hmm, let's go in, I think it's safe now."

We opened the doors and made our way up the walkway, toward the entrance of the building, and entered the very clean almost hotel looking hallway leading along a long row of doors, at the end of the hall, there were stairs and an elevator. We arrived in front of Jacob's door, apartment 1C, and Edward sniffed the air curiously. I mimicked his actions, and caught the familiar scent of salt and metal, the familiar scent of human blood. But it wasn't entirely human, I smelled something else mixed into it, and that was when I realized that inside Jake's apartment somebody was hurt. I knocked.

Jake calmly answered the door in his jeans and no shirt.

"Hey guys, now isn't such a good time," he said, sounding calm, but he looked worried as he held the door open just enough so that we could see his face.

"Who's bleeding?" I asked quietly. No point in alerting any potentially nosy neighbors. After all, Jake had to live here, and we didn't want anyone to think that he was an abuser.

"Leah," he sighed. "She was running back here, and she ran across some broken glass, and a few of the pieces embedded into her paw. We got them out, thankfully, and the bleeding would have already stopped, but she keeps ripping of the bandage because she is talking with her hands, and screaming at us, and it's taking any clots with it."

"Is that those damn blood suckers?" Leah's voice called shrilly, angrily.

"Edward and Bella are here," he growled. Leah jerked the door open.

"You!" she spat at me. "You tricked me!"

"Tricked you how?" I replied in a calm even tone. "How was I supposed to know that you would imprint?"

"I don't know, but you knew; I just know it!"

"Leah, I assure you that we did not know what was going to happen tonight anymore than you did," Edward said, putting his arm around my waist.

"Somehow, I don't believe you!" she hissed.

"I don't care if you believe us or not," I spat. "But now you have imprinted, and it's something that is your business to deal with."

She had no comeback for that, thankfully. A moment of tense silence passed, and Jake allowed us to cross the threshold into his home. Leah sat as far away from us as she could, holding a towel over her bleeding hand.

"You can't plan imprints Leah," Jake said calmly, sitting on the couch, rubbing his temples gently. "Hell, you can't even force them to happen."

Leah sat silently, pressing the towel into her hand. For a moment, she looked like she might cry, but I didn't know why she might cry. Perhaps like me, she cried when she was mad or frustrated. I looked around for Seth, who was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he was still out in the woods near the area.

"I just d-don't understand," she whispered. "They are supposed to be our enemies."

"We are hardly enemies, Leah," I said. "And you aren't the only one to make your mark on one of us."

"Nessie doesn't count," she muttered as she leaned backwards letting up for half a second on her injured hand. "I just don't know how it will work. He is so different from me."

"Perhaps that is why you imprinted upon him," I said thoughtfully, hoping that I might help. "You weren't looking, but at the same time, you were hoping that every face you cross, you would find the right person. Someone who will love you for who you are and not what you become."

"Yeah, and I highly doubt he will be able to help me carry on the traits of my tribe," she muttered sarcastically, "not that I could probably even get pregnant."

"Well, time will tell, but in the meantime, we are going to go paint balling tomorrow sometime, and we would love it if you would join us," I offered warmly, hoping that Leah might be able to say yes to non-committal murder. She sighed closing her eyes.

"Are we playing vampires against us?" she asked. Edward snorted, surely holding back laughter.

"That's hardly fair," I said, poking Edward sharply in the ribs. "I think we're planning on playing boys versus girls, although the boys are going to have one more than us if Seth decides to join us."

"I'm in," Jake said. "I'm always up for non-committal murder."

"Leah?" I asked hoping that she would say yes.

"Sure."

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_Why yes she did in fact imprint. I won't be getting to those details of their relationship right away, but it is coming._

_Thank you to all of my reviewers. I hope that you stick with me until I can hammer all of this out. Keep those reviews coming. The next chapter is a fun chapter that I couldn't help but throwing out there._

_There has been a request made to see more of Gunnar. Don't worry I will fulfill that request soon, I don't know how soon, but soon.  
_

**_Forever,_**

**_Fallen Angel of Hell  
_**


	7. Good Day

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:**Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**A/N:** This chapter is just one of those random things that you throw out there because you are in a weird mood. For a hot minute I thought about just writing into the chapter after this one that they did in fact go paint balling and just go from there, but a I decided why not. This chapter contains a lot of mayhem and jokes that are stemmed from my own real life stories.

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**Chapter Six**

**Good Day**

"_Humor is a spontaneous, wonderful bit of an outburst that just comes. It's unbridled, its unplanned, it's full of suprises." - Erma Bomback_

"Hey Bella!" Emmett's voice carried over to me, dragging me out of the thoughts that I was currently having.

"What, Em?"

"Okay, if paint balling is non-committal murder and skydiving is non-committal suicide, then if you go paint balling while skydiving, is it non-committal murder-suicide?"

"Oh my God, Emmett, you're sick!" Mattie said, feigning shock. "But that is a damn good question."

"I still don't think it's fair that your team has two seers, a mind reader, and a shield," he whined.

"Quit whining. You guys have Jake and Seth," Alice said, grinning. "In other words, we can't see anything you're planning which leaves us just with a mind reader and a shield. You guys have a mind reader, somebody who can make you feel all warm and fuzzy just before you splatter them with paint, and one more than we have. So quit whining."

Mattie laughed as she stood at the kitchen table dressed in a pair of camouflage pants and a black shirt that said in white writing, 'Ha! Now you can't see me!' loading paint balls into the guns that she had bought that morning.

Alice had scoffed at the shirt at first, but Mattie shrugged her off and said that she wasn't going to wear nice clothes when she was taking the risk of getting paint all over them. For a moment, Alice had actually considered going in one of her really nice new outfits that she had just bought, but followed Mattie's lead and opted for something similar to Mattie's outfit.

Alice's camouflage pants hung loosely on her hips, and her own black t-shirt read, 'I smile because they haven't found the bodies yet.' Rosalie had no objection to playing with us. Emmett had teased her ruthlessly about her not wanting to get her hair dirty so she decided to join in. Alice and Mattie had picked her up a shirt with a skeleton in a turban that had a quote looming below him that read, 'Silence! I Kill You!" They had even picked one up for Leah that said, 'I'm the girl your mother warned you about.' They sat on the table folded neatly along with her camouflage pants.

The guys were dressed similar, but Alice thought just because all of the girls were going to be in funny t-shirts, the boys should get fun shirts too. Jasper had been dressed in a Spiderman shirt, Emmett wore the Incredible Hulk, Edward begrudgingly put on the Superman shirt, and Gunnar wore the Batman shirt with a wide childish grin. Next to Leah's clothes were Jake and Seth's shirts and pants. Jake was set to wear a shirt with a picture of Brandon Lee in his final role as Eric Draven, and Seth was getting the Wolverine shirt.

"When are they supposed to get here?" Alice asked impatiently for the tenth time in an hour. "I hate not being able to see them!"

"Patience, Alice," I said, adjusting my own black t-shirt that Mattie and Alice had picked up for me. It read humorously in white letters, 'Bite Me'. "They will be here soon, I'm sure of it."

"Maybe they are backing out of the whole thing," Emmett said, sounding a little disappointed. He, like everybody else, had grown accustomed to Jake's presence and even enjoyed having Seth around. Leah was his only gripe, but he hoped that she would come so he could shoot paint balls at her and not feel a single bit bad.

"I doubt they are backing out of the whole thing," Jasper said thoughtfully. "Leah might be, but hey, that's no skin off my hide. One less to have to take out."

"Oh, they'll be here, Jazz," Alice piped up against her husband, staring him down as if he were her prey. "But since I can't see them coming, and you guys are teamed up with two of them, how about a little bet?"

"Oh, really?" Emmett grinned glancing sidelong at Gunnar, Jasper, and Edward. "What's the wager?"

"Well, let's see… if we win—" Alice pondered a moment "—you guys have to take us shopping for whatever we want, wherever we want."

I groaned slightly, leave it to Alice to think of shopping. Mattie cleared her throat from behind Alice.

"That's hardly fair, Alice," she said, crossing her arms. "You know Gunnar can't go anywhere right now, especially after what happened a week ago."

"You're right. Well then we will each have to set our own stipulations then, but we should keep it to: if we win, the guys have to spend a day catering to us." She smiled. "You think you guys can handle that? An entire day catering to us?"

"Oh I think we can handle that," Jasper smiled coyly. "And if we win, we get an entire day of uninterrupted game play, and you guys have to join in on a Halo tournament."

Mattie and I groaned. Leave it to Jasper to come up with those stipulations.

"Fine," Alice agreed. "Does everyone agree to those stipulations?"

"I guess," the three remaining female vampires grumbled. None of us wanted to get in on an all out Halo war, and Jasper knew it.

Mattie took a seat at the computer, pulling up our music files. She had spent most of the morning downloading music files for her iPod, though we didn't know why. We watched with interest as she compiled a playlist, hooked up her iPod, and transferred it over.

Outside, we heard honking. Edward strolled casually to the window.

"They're here," he said. "All three of them."

"Oh, thank God," Rosalie said. "I would hate for it to be four of us against six of you."

A moment later, the three shape shifters came through the door. Jake and Seth looked excited, but Leah looked far beyond annoyed as she strolled in, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well, hello, sunshine," Mattie said to her as she walked by.

"I'm only here to let out some aggression," she hissed.

"It doesn't matter," Alice said excitedly. "Mattie and I went shopping this morning and got everybody an outfit for today. Leah here's yours."

She handed Leah her new shirt and camouflage pants. Leah took them begrudgingly and headed to the bathroom to change clothes. Jake and Seth gathered theirs, grinning, and headed upstairs to change in Alice and Jasper's room. The three returned within moments in their new clothes.

"I like the shirts," Jake said, grinning, as he looked down at his own new shirt. "So what's it going to be—comic book movies against the humorous statements?"

"I thought it might be fun," Mattie shrugged, clicking the window closed on the computer and disconnecting her iPod. "Okay, now, everybody gather up your guns, and we will head in separate directions for about thirty minutes to come up with a good game plan."

"Alright!" Emmett cried out. "All out war!"

We each took one of the guns on the tables and checked the chambers to check for what color our paint balls were going to be. I had white. Emmett grumbled next to me as he closed his chamber.

"I have hot pink balls," he whined.

"Over share, Emmett," Alice giggled. "Alright, we're ready. We will go plan out our strategies and meet in the forest in half an hour. Our playground is a half mile radius of the clearing."

"Let's do this!" Emmett cried out as he ran out the door. Edward gave me a small peck on the lips.

"Nothing personal, love, but if I see you, I will shoot you," he said in my ear, kissing it as he pulled back.

"Not if I shoot you first." I grinned playfully, aiming my gun at him. He darted out the door after the other five, surely to help them come up with a game plan. Once we were certain that they were in the forest, Alice started bouncing again. Leah's face contorted with disgust, and I could tell that she really didn't want to be here.

"Okay, I have a massively evil brilliant game plan!" Alice said, sounding like a evil scientist on a sugar high.

"What's that?" Rosalie asked checking her chamber again.

"Our game plan is to not have a game plan!" Alice bounced with her statement.

"What?" Leah spat.

"Well, Emmett made me think of what we are up against while we are out there," she said, leaning casually against the wall propping the gun on her shoulder. "Mattie and I can't exactly detect what moves they are going to make, but they still have Edward, and personally, I don't want him happening upon one of us and hearing our plans, so I figure if we just go in balls to the wall we can win this."

"No game plan?" I asked.

"Well, Bella, you can have a game plan—" Mattie grinned "—just don't tell us."

"Okay, but I really want to shoot Jake," Leah declared.

"You got it!" Rosalie laughed. "But I swear I'm going take Emmett out just to teach him a lesson."

"Why did you load your iPod?" Leah asked Mattie, who was looking through her playlists.

"Because it confuses Edward when I have music in my head instead of thoughts. Just remember that Jazz is going to try to make you feel all warm, cuddly, and comfortable right before he shoots you, so beware and we all know that Edward is going to be listening for our minds."

We waited another ten minutes before we started heading to the clearing in the forest. Usually the clearing was used for baseball, but we had moved in a few large boulders to hide behind for the braver ones who might be darting across the field to the wooded area on the other side. The trees would serve as excellent hiding places.

The boys weren't there when we arrived, which gave us the advantage, but I could smell them coming close as we ducked around the area. Mattie ran to the other side of the clearing and flew up a tree perching herself casually on a branch with her finger on the trigger. Her ear buds were already nestled into her ears. Leah ducked around a tree a little deeper in the forest. Alice stayed in the clearing, perched happily on one of the rocks acting as bait. Rosalie stayed on the other side of the clearing, hiding in a tree like Mattie. They would be acting as our snipers. Leah and I would cover the ground.

We heard Emmett's booming laughter as they made their way through the forest. Edward was leading the way his gun perched on his shoulder. I wasn't sure if they realized that we were already out here ready and waiting for them. They entered the clearing and spotted Alice. Edward started running, dodging Alice's green balls as they flew at him. Jasper and Emmett started shooting at her, but missed due to Alice's speed. Jake and Seth took off in opposite directions: Jake toward me, and Seth toward Leah. Great, if I shot Jake, I would put him out of the game and Leah would be mad because she wanted to "kill" him. Gunnar had not appeared with them; he must have decided to stay on the other side of our playing field.

"Crap! They're already out here!" Emmett boomed. "How did we miss them?"

"Stealth?" Jasper asked, giving him a sidelong look. The two had obviously hovered too long because two green, red, and white paint balls flew in their direction. The red balls were from Rosalie, and they both hit Emmett squarely in the back of the head. Jasper barely managed to dodge Mattie's green balls and Leah's white balls; he was now in the woods in Leah's area. Emmett had made it too easy to take himself out of the game, but then again, Rosalie was acting as a sniper. He climbed onto the rock that Alice had perched herself on and set his gun aside.

"I love you too Rosalie," he called out, "and I know that was you!"

Rosalie was probably holding laughter in so that she wouldn't be detected.

I crept quietly through the trees, listening intently for any noises behind me. I needed to make it across the clearing without Emmett spotting me and giving away my location.

"Who the hell is out here listening to music?" Jasper called out hoping that somebody would answer him. He was about fifteen feet from Mattie's hiding place. "I swear I hear music."

"Shit!" I heard Leah yell, and then I heard several of the soft splats as someone surely got eliminated. I walked quickly through the old rotting leaves and sticks, waiting for someone to come up from behind me or jump out of nowhere.

"HI, LEAH!" Emmett yelled, sounding like a five-year-old child. "You are all covered in blue paint!"

"Shut up, bloodsucker!" Leah spat, and I heard several more, definitive splats. She was shooting Emmett, who protested childishly. We were now down to four and they were down to five. At least for a few minutes we had an even playing field, too bad it hadn't lasted longer.

"Hey, I'm already out!" he whined. "Rosie she's not being very nice!"

I stifled a laugh and spotted something dart several feet in front of me behind a tree. I had the feeling of being incredibly comfortable. Jasper. I ducked behind a tree myself.

"Hello, Jasper," I said coolly.

"Ahh, we meet again!" he said, mocking a very bad French accent for some reason. "I'm not going to surrender anytime soon."

"I don't have any plans of surrender either," I said, listening and waiting for him to move. I heard the branches above me move and I looked up to see Mattie gracefully leaping from branch to branch looking for Jasper.

"Are you in the trees?" he asked.

"Nope, maybe it's a squirrel," I said, stifling laughter as I heard the branches stop moving, and several soft splats were made.

"A squirrel my ass!" he swore loudly. He started moving quickly out of the woods. I caught a glance of his retreating back, she had hit him in the top of his curly honey blond hair, which was now tainted bright green. Four to four; at least we were even again. I started moving across the ground. Mattie returned to the tree that she had started from.

"Hi, Jazz!" Emmett called. "Who got you?"

"A squirrel named Mattie!" Jasper called back loud enough to alert the other guys on his team that Mattie was in the trees.

"Shut up, Jazz!" Mattie called. "Or I'll make sure that pretty blond hair of yours stays green for awhile."

"Bring it!" Several whooshing noises flew through the air followed by several soft splats. "I wasn't being serious!"

"Hi, Mattie!" Edward's voice rang out of nowhere. "What is that noise in your ears."

"Shit!" Mattie swore this time and dropped out of the tree she was perched in and took off running missing at least fifteen of Edwards yellow balls that now added bright color to the bark of one of the trees. I started moving quickly hoping that he hadn't yet realized that I was close. I started to approach a bush when I caught Jake's familiar scent. I started firing into the bushes and several splats made contact with something very solid.

"Ouch!" I heard Jake say as he appeared out of the bushes several bright white spots on his shirt and one on his cheek.

"Sorry Jake," I said, "but better me than Leah because I think you would have been covered."

"Probably. Is she already out?" he asked, starting to make his way past me and through the trees.

"Yeah, didn't you hear Emmett announce that she was out?"

"I thought I heard something to that effect." He walked out of the wooded area into the clearing with his gun lazily perched on his shoulder. Just like Emmett had announced everybody else's out, he announced Jake's, too, as he took place on the rock. Four on three; now in favor of us. I wasn't sure, but I thought Edward might still be in the trees. I flew up one of the long trunks and balanced on a tree branch trying to decide which branch to jump to when I spotted him hiding behind a large group of leaves aiming at me. I jumped down narrowly missing several shots and took off running backwards shooting in his general direction. I figured I missed as I darted across the field to the other side where I knew Gunnar and Seth still lurked.

"She got you, Edward?" Emmett called. I guess the shots that I had fired had just barely hit him. I glanced back in time to see him sigh and take a seat next to his brothers on the rock. "We suck at this, man."

Rosalie had shifted from her original tree and was now deeper in the woods, watching and waiting lazily. Behind me, I heard a twig snap, and I turned around quickly as Seth started firing his gun. Bright pink balls shot at me again narrowly missing me as I returned fire, nailing him with only one of my rounds in the forehead.

"That is a morbid shot, Bells," he said, laughing and rubbing his forehead, smearing white paint. "Good thing you don't have the red balls."

He retreated toward the clearing. We only had one left now, and I thought for a moment about where he might be hiding. I glanced up at Rosalie who was giving me a very questioning look, as if she didn't know where to look either.

"Gunnar is their secret weapon," she whispered down at me. "I've seen him dart past me at least six times, and I haven't been able to hit him. It's really pissing me off, and he knows it."

"Having some trouble there, ladies?" Emmett called, mocking us. We ignored him.

"You keep going," I whispered up to Rosalie, ignoring my brother-in-law. "We'll find him. Have you seen Mattie?"

"Came past me several minutes ago, haven't seen her since. Alice is patrolling the outer borders."

I nodded and started venturing deeper into the woods. I was about twenty feet from our space limit when I spotted Mattie and Gunnar pop up out of the bushes, guns drawn and aimed at each other. To avoid drawing attention to myself, I hid behind a tree and aimed to take out Gunnar, who stood transfixed on his mother.

"Hi, Mom!" he said, sounding like a child who had gotten into the cookie jar, ate the entirety of the jar, and got away with it. They started shooting at one another missing several times due to their speed.

"You can't shoot me! I'm your mother!" Mattie said, laughing as one of his yellow balls splat onto her left shoulder. "Damn it, you got me. Guys, I'm out!"

Mattie bowed mockingly and began to walk off, but stopped suddenly when she reached my hiding place. I thought for sure that she was going to give me away, but her eyes were glassy and far away, like Alice's got when she was seeing the future. I took my chance and shot Gunnar in the chest as he stared at his mother with concern painted across his features.

"Ana," she whispered urgently as she quickly turned on heel, dropped her gun, and took off running toward the house. Gunnar followed at the same break neck speed calling after her. I assumed that she never stopped.

"The game is over, guys!" I called out as I chased after them. In the distance, I heard the curiosity peak as they all asked each other who won, making side bets who had the final "kill" shot, not knowing that there was something wrong. I reached the house, thanking God that I didn't have to catch my breath.

Mattie was talking frantically to Carlisle when I walked into the kitchen. Gunnar looked just as frantic as his mother. Something very bad had to have happened in her vision.

"I have to go, Carlisle!" she said softly and urgently. "And I know you aren't a doctor at that hospital anymore, and they probably won't even recognize you especially since you are using the name 'Cullen' now, but I want you to perform the surgery. I know you are the best, and I can't lose her yet, I just can't."

If it were possible, I was certain that Mattie would be in tears as Carlisle took her into his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest.

"I will come, but I don't know if they will let me perform the surgery," he whispered softly, "but we can try at least."

"I'm coming with you!" Gunnar declared standing a little taller than he had been.

"No, you are not!" she said calmly. "It is still far too dangerous for you to be around humans."

"But—" he began to protest, but stopped when his mother gave him the stern 'you-will-do-as-I-say' look. "Fine, but you have to keep me posted."

Mattie broke away from Carlisle and wrapped her arms around her son.

"I know you want to go, Gun," she whispered in his ear, "but it's for the best. Anamaria and Jinesa haven't seen you since you've been turned, and I don't want them to see you with red eyes. I don't think that they can handle it, and it's not going to be easy for them to take anyway."

"I know," he replied, wrapping his arms around her. "Be careful, Mom."

"I will go tell Esme that we are leaving," Carlisle said. "Bella, would you like to come with us?"

"What? Where?" I asked, shocked. Mattie broke away from Gunnar.

"Carlisle and I are going to St. Louis," she said, adjusting her shirt. "Anamaria had a heart attack."

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

_1. The Crow is my favorite movie ever!!!_

_2. I love Jeff Dunham which is where Leah's shirt is from. I can't make it through his shows though. I seriously pass out right at about Peanut and Jose Jalapeno. It's sad when my fiance looks at me and says "let's put in Jeff Dunham so you will go to sleep."  
_

_3. We are still trying to get someone to go skydiving and paint balling at the same time._

_4. There is a reason that Edward wasn't invited to go and part of it is in the next chapter so stick around._

_5. I am posting Mattie's paint balling playlist on my myspace page._

_6. I couldn't resist Emmett's line about the hot pink balls. It was there and I took it._

_7. For the record because twilight-is-lovee and I just talked about this, I am not an Edward fan. He's just too Emo for me._

_8. It thought as far as Emmett, Edward, and Jasper's shirts went they all fit them very well. Originally Edward was wearing the Spiderman shirt and Jasper was wearing the Superman shirt, but twilight-is-lovee said that they worked out better switched and I agreed. She rocks.  
_

_I hope you guys enjoyed the mayhem. I've never paint balled before, but I've never really wanted to because as my sister lovingly puts it especially after she kicks the crap out of me, I bruise like a banana. I almost had them playing laser tag, but I didn't want their speed to be noticed if I put them in a laser tag arena._

_**Forever,**_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell  
**_


	8. Flight

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post Breaking Dawn. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you in that reflection. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Your altar ego?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Chapter Seven**

**Flight**

"_The simplest questions are the most profound.  
Where were you born?  
Where is your home?  
Where are you going?  
What are you doing?  
Think about these once in awhile, and watch your answers change." _

_- Richard Bach_

"Why are you going?" Edward asked me. "They can handle themselves."

I sighed tossing another shirt into my bag and looked at my husband.

"They asked me to go, I don't know why they asked me, but they did and I am going to go," I told him zipping my bag. "We should be back soon. Carlisle expects a week at most."

"You know what they say about heart attacks," he mumbled, "the minor one is soon followed by the massive one that will kill you."

"Don't let Gunnar and Mattie hear you say that," I warned, "they're so emotional right now though I don't know who's worse, but they are both shaken up. Jasper should come with us too just to keep Mattie calm, but I think you guys will need him here with Gunnar."

Edward sighed in defeat. Since he had received a brief explanation from Mattie and Carlisle as to why they were leaving for St. Louis, he had been making a very vain attempt to keep me from leaving. I had reminded him repeatedly that no matter how new of a friend she was to me, Mattie was still my friend and if she wanted me to be by her side as she endured the torture of pacing the hospital corridors while she waited for her sister to get out of surgery, I would.

"When does your flight leave?" he asked folding his hands into his lap. "I want to at least see you off."

"I think Carlisle arranged the last three tickets for the nine twenty flight to Boston then a connection plane from Boston to St. Louis International," I sat next to him taking one of his hands into my own, "we will be okay. I don't think Mattie is going to go on some insane bloodlust."

"I know she won't and I don't know why I'm so worried," he sighed, "I just haven't been away from you a single night since..."

He trailed off and I was thankful that he had not completed his statement. His leaving had been the absolute worst six months of my life, I was a catatonic mess. Ever since I had stopped him from revealing his sparkling body in the sunlight in Volterra that day we had never spent any long length of time apart. For several long months I was in an almost constant state of paranoia in the back of my mind, the part of my mind that had always made me wonder if he might leave again until we were married and then I was turned on the same day of Nessie's miraculous birth. I would never have to worry about him leaving me now, but my feeble human mind had always wondered.

"I will be back," I assured him kissing him lightly, "and hopefully Mattie will come back with us."

"Oh don't worry she'll be back, even if I have to come to St. Louis and drag her back kicking and screaming," he smiled, "she is not going to leave Gunnar here alone. I don't think he knows how to survive without her presence. Leah picked a good one to imprint on."

"This is very true," I leaned in hoping that he would close the distance between us with his sweet lips. He leaned in meeting my lips with a passionate kiss. His hands made their way up my neck, his fingertips danced across my cheeks before I felt them twist into my hair entangling them with the soft strands. My own fingers tugged gently into his soft copper colored hair. We shouldn't be doing this, we didn't have the time, but it would be days before I would see him again and I thought that maybe we would have time to make love just once.

A soft knocking brought us out of our passionate embrace. Edward growled and I sighed in defeat. We tore ourselves away from each other running our own hands through our hair before telling the person on the other side of the door that they could come in.

It was Mattie. She had changed out of her paint balling attire and was now dressed simply in a pair of blue jeans, a plain dark green t-shirt, and white trainers. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail at the base of her neck.

"I hate to interrupt," she said glumly, "but we should probably get going if we want to make our flight."

"You be careful with her," Edward warned. Mattie's eyes flashed with anger.

"She's not some china doll human like she used to be Edward," she growled at him. Edward was up in a flash pinning Mattie against the wall.

"Vampire or not Matilida May Masen," he growled, "I said be careful."

Mattie's irritation arose even further as she gripped her fingertips around Edwards trachea.

"Edward I would suggest that you let me go before I rip you to pieces," she warned as I watched her grip tighten around his throat.

"Stop it!" I commanded. "You are acting like children."

They released each other. Edward stormed down the hall angrily and Mattie smoothed her green shirt over her stomach.

"What the hell was that about?" I demanded.

"It's quite obvious and he doesn't want you to go," she said simply. I could still detect subtle notes of irritation in her sweet voice. "You don't have to go Bella. My brother in law will be there and she will keep me plenty calm."

"No I want to," I picked up my bag and started out the door. She caught my arm gently and pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you, Bella, you have no idea how much this means to me," she said releasing me. "Now let's go. I hear airport security these days is a real pain."

"When was the last time you flew?" I asked as we made our way up to the main house to Carlisle's Mercedes.

"About a month before September eleventh," she said quietly. "I didn't have much need to fly because I always wanted to stay close to Ana and the kids, but I went away once for a few weeks. To clear my mind and escape Gunnar."

"How old was he then?" I glanced sidelong at her as we walked. We could see Carlisle putting bags in the trunk, Esme right next to him.

"Nineteen," she replied quietly. "He was on me every day that he wanted to be turned. Told me that if he was by my side as a vampire that I could never go through with my plans for my own future."

"Plans?" I watched her eyes dart to the ground and she shoved her hands into her pockets.

"I had every intention to find someone to kill me when my children were dead," she said in a grim tone. "I didn't want to outlive them, but now I have no choice, but to live forever now. Despite the fact that I love my son very much and of course I have turned him, I don't have anything past them to live for."

"You sound like Edward," I smiled. "A few years ago when I was still human I did something very stupid. I jumped off of a cliff and Alice thought that I had died. She told Rosalie and Rosalie told Edward and he called my house looking for Charlie to see if I was okay. Jake had picked up the phone and when he asked where Charlie was Jake told him that he was at a funeral. Edward assumed that it was my funeral of course and took off to Volterra. He never had any intention of living on after I died."

"Wow, I wouldn't have gone to the Volturi," she smiled.

"Well Alice and I figured out that Edward was about to do something very stupid and the next thing I knew we took the first flight to Italy, stole a car, and I was running through the streets trying to catch Edward before he could walk into the sunlight and reveal that he was no normal human."

"Obviously you caught him," she said as we reached the car. Carlisle looked at us both gripping his keys in his hand.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I will ever be," Mattie said as she climbed into the backseat. Esme followed her leaving me the front passenger seat. Carlisle got into the driver seat and started the car. We were almost out of the driveway when a set of headlights appeared behind us. I turned to look. Edward was following us.

The drive to the airport was silent with the exception of Mattie's phone going off. It was her daughter calling frantically to tell her mother that her aunt had had a heart attack. She calmed her by telling her that she was already on her way that she would be there very soon.

"How is she taking it?" Esme's soft voice whispered.

"Not well," she replied letting out a heavy sigh. "She's a mess, I guess I had the vision early. If I would have known when I had it that she hadn't had the attack yet I would have called her and told her to get to the hospital."

"Don't kick yourself Mattie," I told her. She smiled and shook her head. Was she blaming herself?

We arrived at the airport, picked up our tickets and made our way to the gate. There would be no need to check our bags since all the bags were small enough to be considered a carry on. I glanced at my watch and noted that we still had half an hour before it would be time to board. Edward walked up and stood by my side.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled in my ear. "I was wrong."

"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to Edward," I mumbled glancing at Mattie who was back on her phone, no doubt she was talking to Jinesa again. She closed her eyes with relief and hung up.

"How is she?" Carlisle questioned.

"Stable, but it's been touchy," she said shutting her phone off and shoving it in her pocket. "They won't consider the surgery until she's stable for more than twelve hours. Her admitting doctor actually asked Gavin if push came to shove if she would want indefinite full life support. The bastard knows her too apparently, seen her several times in the last few months all he had to do was look at her chart that clearly states that there will be no need to continue her life on complete support systems."

"It's a pretty standard question," Carlisle told her. "As long as they allow me to perform the surgery she will probably outlive all of us."

"They will allow you to perform the surgery, because the moment I lay eyes on that doctor I'm firing him from her case," she growled. "Gavin will back me on whatever I say when it comes to her health."

We stood in a tense silence for several minutes before Edward and Mattie's eyes met.

"I'm sorry," he said aloud.

"So am I," she replied, "and don't worry I don't see anything going the wrong way as far as her being with me. My family knows what I am, or at least the family that is there knows what I am. They won't out us."

A few people that were standing around us were trying to drop in on our conversation and from the few words that Mattie had said it could be assumed that we were gay. If they only knew.

"I hope not, but then again if they haven't outed you by this point then I don't think they will be so vindictive as to do it now."

Mattie chuckled softly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a sisterly hug. People were staring.

"Thank you Edward," she said louder than she probably should have when it simply concerned those of us in the circle, "nobody would let their wife leave them like you have."

The people that were staring quickly rushed off like they had just remembered they had something very important to do. At that moment I understood that she had said what she did on purpose.

"You'll call when you get out of surgery?" Esme mumbled with her arms wrapped around Carlisle's waist.

"You know I will," he mumbled cupping her face in his hands. "We will be back before you know it."

They shared a short intimate kiss not allowing themselves to make a scene. Overhead we heard a womans voice coolly announce that our plane would be boarding in five minutes. I sighed and pecked Edward on the lips. Part of me was still upset that he was underestimating Mattie and her family.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," I replied. "Take care of Nessie."

"You know I will," he smiled, "call me when you guys land."

I caught Mattie looking at us with a sort of longing in her eyes as we started to step through the security gate. I slipped out of my shoes and placed my bag on the conveyor belt. Carlisle and Mattie mimicked me and stepped through behind me. We picked up our bags and headed toward a lovely smiling blond who would be checking tickets in the next moment or two before she allowed anyone to board. Heaven forbid anybody would board the wrong plane.

We were close to the front of the line standing still, not talking. There would be plenty of time on the plane. Unfortunately we couldn't get a non-stop flight. We would be landing in Boston in less than an hour after our first plane was in the air, then we would board the flight headed to St. Louis International. After a minute of standing there the blond started checking tickets and wishing people a good flight. She took my ticket brushing her warm hand against my icy hand.

"Honey your hand is freezing," she spoke with a southern accent. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I have really horrible circulation," I replied with a smile. Behind me I heard Mattie snort as she suppressed laughter.

"Well be sure to turn the heat on when you reach your seat," she smiled handing me a stub, "have a wonderful flight."

"Thank you." I passed through walking slowly down the hall toward the plane. Mattie caught up with me within seconds.

"Yes, such horrible circulation indeed," she mocked, "about as good as a dead guy."

"Shush," I grinned. At least she was still trying to put on a brave face now.

Carlisle was walking behind us and together we reached another smiling blond at the doorway of the plane who directed us toward our seats near the back. Taking turns we shoved our bags into the overhead compartment before taking our seat in the uncomfortable chairs, well if we were human they would be uncomfortable. I sat next to Mattie and Carlisle sat in the seat in front of us. Mattie drew her legs up to her chest and set her head on her knees. We ignored the flight attendant as she demonstrated where the exits were and informed us that our seats could be used as flotation devices. If the plane crashed we would survive without a doubt.

Mattie straightened out and buckled her seatbelt. I followed suit and we sat very still as the plane took off. I watched her with interest through the entire hour of the first flight pondering what questions to ask her now that it was going to be the two of us for a couple more hours once we were on the second flight. We landed in the large hustle and bustle Boston airport and quickly made our way to the other end of the building where the second plane waited.

We repeated the same process of going through security and checking tickets at the gate. This time I was a little more careful to make sure that I didn't make any skin contact with the person checking our tickets. We walked down the long hall to be greeted by a chipper red head standing at the door who checked our tickets and pointed us toward the preferred seating section toward the front of the plane. Preferred seating was better than saying first class I had guessed.

Mattie stopped at the two seats that were designated as ours and put her small suitcase in the compartment and reached for mine. I handed it over before sitting in the wide, plush aisle seat. Mattie sat next to the window after checking to make sure where Carlisle was, she silently buckled her seatbelt and stared out the window toward flickering lights. Carlisle was sat two seats in front of us, more than likely not on purpose, simply luck of the draw.

The flight attendant repeated the same uninteresting information as the first had done. Once she was done I buckled my own seatbelt and leaned my head back awaiting the second takeoff.

The flight attendants were milling around handing out pillows and blankets to anybody who wished to sleep through the flight. Mattie and I graciously turned down the offer.

Once we were in the air Most of the people were reclining their seats and preparing to nap their way through the flight. A woman in the seats in front of us was tucking her child who was no more than five or six into her blankets and pillow telling her that they would be home soon. Mattie clicked out of her seatbelt and drew her legs back up to her chest resting her head on her knees. I turned to her with my first question in mind unfastening my own seatbelt.

"Where did you go when you ran away for that short period of time?" I asked in a curious whisper that no normal human could hear unless they were right on top of us and even then it would probably be a real struggle.

"London," she replied in her own bored whisper. "It was the first flight leaving when I made it to the airport. I stayed there for three weeks, but I started to miss home. I came back and moved completely away from St. Louis after over fifteen years of staying around the area. I went to Pennsylvania because I heard that it stays fairly cloudy most of the time which is no lie."

"You stayed in one area that long?"

"I shouldn't have, but it's a wonder what make-up and wigs can do," she smiled and resumed in a quieter tone, "I would start at age twenty then I would contact Jenks every five years, change my identity and started out again in a new house. I own three houses in the St. Louis area under different names."

"Where are you from originally?"

"I was born in California in fifty-eight and when I was three my parents moved to a little town in Southern Missouri where I grew up for most of my life. My mother was unstable and my father wasn't around much. At one point my mother actually dumped my younger brother Kyrin and I on her best friends doorstep and took off for a few months. Her friend adopted my sister and a lot later down the road did the same with my brother. My parents divorced when I was eleven and like always I was caught in the middle of their disputes. She remarried within two months and he married almost two years later.

"I was so screwed up in the head I didn't know my butt from a hole in the ground and bounced between living with my brother and sister's adoptive parents and living with my father. Because of my mother's instability I knew that I couldn't stay with her. I moved out at seventeen with my then fiance who left me two and a half years later. I moved to St. Louis to get away from everything and get my life in order."

"So how did you meet your husband?" She smiled vaguely and stared out the window into the darkness.

"We were both floor grunts at the hospital, I did that until I got through my nursing classes a year later at twenty. It was an instant connection and the only thing that bothered me was the idea of my parents freaking out when they found out that he was so much older than I was, but they loved him. He was divorced with two older children and a very grim outlook on marriage. I changed that and we married when I was almost twenty-two after two and a half years of living in sin. I found out that I was pregnant a week after we returned from our honeymoon, but I lost the baby at sixteen weeks. It was the hardest thing we went through, but we knew that one day we would have one of our own. We tried for another two years and finally after my twenty-fourth birthday I found out that I was pregnant with the twins. Of course I didn't know that I was having twins until they came because their hearts beat like they were one and they hid behind each other. I was so excited and I thought that Marius was too, but he left me out of the blue. He didn't even have the balls to explain why in person actually, he sent me a letter after he had been missing for more than a week. I was devastated to say the very least and after that the rest is history."

"Have you looked for him with a privet investigator?"

"No, I don't know how I would take it if I found him and saw him," she looked down and pulled gently on a loose string on her shirt. "I've looked for him here and there because I'm curious to know how he's doing, but I don't think I could ever see him face to face again."

She stared out the window into the dark sky watching as the blue-grey clouds formed below us. I had a million questions for her, but I didn't want to sound like I was badgering though at this point she seemed like an open book that I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what happens next. How much did her family know about her life now? How many knew? Did her sister have any children of her own? Was her daughter married?

"Tell me about you," she said suddenly and very quietly, "how did the two of you meet?"

"Haven't you heard it in his head?"

"No, it's funny, he can have secrets, but nobody else can," she said turning her golden eyes on me, "he shuts me out most of the time." I sighed.

"I moved to Forks from Phoenix several years ago because I thought that it would be a good idea to stay with my dad so that my mother traveled on the road with my step-dad Phil. At first I hated it because I left my warm sunny home for a dark rainy version of what I thought would be hell. I was a junior in high school and I started in the middle of the year which is awkward enough, but when you transfer into a small town it's worse apparently."

"Been there, done that," Mattie snorted.

"At first he resisted against me, but over time he found that he couldn''t stay away from me. After we got through some of the formalities we figured out a way to be together. Then there was four months of complete hell followed by about two months of hell light where I spent most of my time with Jake, but even he didn't see me for a while when he started going through his own changes, something that I didn't like at all and it made me feel even worse. When he finally admitted what was happening that was when I jumped off a cliff and the fiasco I told you about back at the house ensued."

I didn't want to tell her why I had jumped off the cliff, though I could see the question burning in her eyes, but in a blink it was gone. She was looking back out the window, watching the dark abyss with interest. Two seats in front of us Carlisle sat quietly reading pages of a file that Mattie had given him at the house.

"Why me?" I asked quietly. "Why ask me to come?"

"Because this time with the Cullens I feel like I'm closer to you," she gave a wry smile, "sometimes when I look at you it's like looking into a mirror. Like one of those mirrors that you see in a fun house that distorts you. Don't get me wrong I can relate to the others in their own ways. Like Rosalie for instance, she and I were attacked just before it happened and we have a love for cars now. Emmett and I can both be quite random at times not to mention when he and I get on a roll we play off one another. Jasper and I keep one another calm when darling Alice isn't around. Alice, oh, dear sweet Alice have so many things we have in common it isn't funny."

"What about Edward?"

"Edward told me that I was pregnant when I met him the first time," she met my eyes with a smile. "You remember that I told you that Carlisle once worked in the same hospital as I did?"

"Vaguely, but yes."

"Well every once in awhile I would be pulled out of the maternity ward to go work in surgery. The day was winding down and I had passed by his office to see if he had wanted a new pain medication for a patient to be added to his orders. Edward was there and he just stared at me like I had something flashing across my forehead like a neon sign," she sighed. "He asked me how far along into my pregnancy I was. Not quite the best way to break the ice to someone that you don't know. I didn't know how to take it though."

"How far along were you?"

"About eight weeks and completely oblivious to all the changes," she laughed. "I went to the drug store and bought one of those home tests that had started getting popular. It was positive. When I asked Carlisle how Edward knew that I was pregnant he just changed the subject. They moved away a month later after Emmett had a slip up."

"But other than that you and Edward aren't close as far as I have noticed," I sighed.

"It's not that I don't want to be," she leaned her head back, "he and I have a sort of love hate relationship. One day he takes me very well and on another day, he will, well you know pin me against a wall."

"He apologized at least."

"Why did you choose this life?"

"Are we playing twenty questions?"

"I'm trying to keep my mind off of things at the moment, you're helping me immensely," she stretched, her long legs gently bumping the seat in front of us slightly. I knew that the stretch was a fake, that she was just trying to be more 'human'.

"I wanted to be with Edward forever and I knew that in order to be with him I would have to make a few changes. What's your daughter like?"

"Not a whole lot like her brother," she brushed her bangs out of her eye. "She knows because of her brother, but don't tell the others because they don't like to know who all knows. Carlisle of course knows that they know. Jinesa is a very grounded young woman, graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Psychology, married her high school sweetheart in their junior year of college. She likes to believe that she's a run of the mill all American girl. As Gunnar puts it if they ever had to team up she would be the brains of the operation and he would be the balls."

"Vulgar much?" I laughed lightly.

"He's all boy," she smiled her eyes again drifting away from me to a far away place. More questions flooded me. "Jinesa hates me. I can't explain it, but she hates me."

"Was Anamaria afraid of you?" I asked timidly snapping her out of her day dream. Her eyes drifted to the floor.

"We were always close, in fact she and her husband moved up to St. Louis so that they could be closer to me and to get away from small town life. They had only been married for six months when Marius left me," she smiled warmly. "When I told her what happened to me she was extremely shocked, but after I gave her a few minutes to think about it she was okay. Despite the fact that I had literally disappeared off of the face of the Earth, she still held onto hope. So, in short, no she wasn't afraid of me." She heaved a very heavy sigh. "She never had children of her own, told me that mine were more than enough and of course Gavin remembered what a nightmare I was pregnant. I blame myself for their sacrifice."

I tried my best to hide my shock, but I was astonished to hear that she had blamed herself for essentially being killed and resurrected as one of us. A vampire. To her I assumed that she saw herself as a monster. Edward had once told me that Mattie blamed herself for a lot of things that were out of her hands and that was just her way of dealing with things.

Her views baffled me, but then I remembered back to my human life. In a way I was just like her. I blamed myself for having to run away from Forks, away from James and Victoria. Then I blamed myself for them going away because I had hurt myself.

We remained silent for the remainder of the flight. I didn't want to push her with too many questions, but there was so much that I wanted to know about her and she always seemed so willing to tell me. Jasper had told me that at any moment that could change, Mattie was unpredictable and though she was stable for the moment one tiny tip in the wrong direction and she might snap. He warned that her happy and otherwise pleasant demeanor was all a facade, carefully planned out and rehearsed for perfection. I could hear Jasper's voice echoing in my head.

_In her mind she still thinks human, that's why she feeds everyday._

I heard the announcement overhead that we were going to be landing in ten minutes that the weather in St. Louis was a balmy sixty degrees with clear skies a beautiful night for April and according to the weather channel back at home soon there would be clouds rolling in bringing rain and thunderstorms. It was nearing three in the morning and I was happy that I didn't have to worry about sleeping. Around us others were stirring from their naps putting their reclining seats back into a normal position, buckling themselves back in and preparing themselves for landing.

_She has taken vamparism worse than anybody in this house because she had something to live for as a human and it was ripped away from her in a split second. This life hasn't agreed with her in the least._

The plane landed smoothly on the ground below us and slowed as it approached the terminal.

_Mattie longs to be human in the worst way. She wants that normalcy back in her life and she will never have that back and she absolutely hates it, she's trying to make the best of it, but it kills her spirit a little more everyday._

The plane docked at the terminal and everyone stood to get their bags out of the overhead compartments making their way toward the exits rubbing sleep out of their eyes. We waited until most of the people were out the doorway and making their way into the terminal.

_Just imagine not knowing where Edward disappeared to forever and being ripped away from Nessie because somebody wanted to be selfish. That's her life. Her own personal nightmare that she can't wake up from._

_**************************************************************************************_

**_I forgot how long that chapter was. Twilight-is-lovee suggested I break it up into two chapters and I have obviously decided against that._**

**_I hope the you guys have enjoyed this chapter because it has taken over a month to come up. I wrote it a month ago, but just as I was going to send twilight-is-lovee a reminder for the chapter, my wireless card went out. Boy was I ticked. The Geek Squad guy tried to tell me that wasn't my problem and I just looked at him and said that I knew what I was talking about and he needed to shut his mouth look my computer over and send it to the manufacturer to have the motherboard replaced. I finally got it back after a month._**

**_I've had a couple of request to have a Gunnar chapter written. I'm working on it, it's harder than heck, but I am working on it. I am now realizing that I have Mattie all developed and tweeked and I have done very little with Gunnar. Shame on me._**

**Forever**

**Fallen Angel of Hell**


	9. Love and Hate

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post Breaking Dawn. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you in that reflection. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Your altar ego?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**AN:** I thought that I might get sick of typing Anamaria so many times in this chapter so I gave her a nickname by taking the first, fourth and seventh letters of her name. Mattie calls her Ana or Anamaria no matter what because that's what she's called her since childhood. Mattie calls her Ana and Gavin calls her Ami.

**Chapter Eight**

**Love and Hate**

"I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family - and I don't think I could ask for anything more than that, actually."

-Frank Sinatra

We had barely made it out of the gate when a man in his late forties ran up to us, taking Mattie into a tight hug. He was tall, his dark hair was sprinkled lightly with silvery gray, and his brown eyes looked tired and worn. I knew that it had to be her brother-in-law, Gavin. For some strange reason, I was half expecting Gavin to look as though he were in his twenties.

"So far, so good," he mumbled in her ear before pulling away and looking at Carlisle. "I'm so happy you could make it, Dr. Cullen. Ami and I have heard so much about you."

"Ami?" I asked aloud. Gavin met my eyes, and I watched as his brow furrowed.

"Is this Alice?" he asked. "The way you described her, I thought she would be much smaller." Mattie smiled softly.

"Gavin, this is Bella, Edward's wife."

"OH! I'm so sorry." He shook my hand. "Shall we? I'll explain everything up to now, Dr. Cullen, about Ami's condition."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Gavin." Carlisle smiled warmly as the three of us followed him. Mattie and Carlisle fell back for a few seconds.

"My sister doesn't keep any secrets from her husband, Carlisle," she whispered in a hurried tone. "She didn't tell the kids, though. They figured it out."

"If the Volturi ever find out…" he trailed off, meeting Mattie's worried eyes.

"Please don't complete that thought, Carlisle," she mumbled. "I don't even want to consider that for them."

Gavin led us out to a large, green Dodge Durango, and hit the unlock button on his keyless entry remote. Once we were all in, Gavin started to explain to Carlisle everything that had happened up to just before he left to pick us up. Mattie and I were silent in the backseat.

"I've already fired the doctor," he stated bluntly, as we pulled up to St. John's Mercy Hospital doors. "I told the hospital administrator that you would be taking over the case, Dr. Cullen, whether he liked it or not."

"I'm flattered." Carlisle smiled. "I hope that I can help."

"Mattie seemed certain." He pulled into an empty parking place in the multilevel parking garage. "Then again, she has probably seen Ami pulling through."

Naturally, nobody wanted to tell Gavin that the visions were subjective, that somebody could make the simplest decision and the entire vision changes. I didn't think that telling him of such things would bring any comfort. Carlisle gave a comforting smile. Maybe he knew.

"I will do what I can," he said.

We were lead through the long, winding halls toward a dim waiting room where several people sat silently in separate areas, looking disheveled and deep in thought, or perhaps in prayer. In a corner of the waiting room, a young woman with dark brown hair and hazel green eyes sat hugging her knees to her chest.

"Jin," Gavin mumbled to her. She looked up at the four of us and gave a weak smile.

"I sent Quinn home," she muttered softly. "He has to work in the morning, and I wanted him to get some sleep. Where's Gunnar?"

"In Hanover." Mattie sat on the floor at her feet. "I didn't want to take any risks of him coming and something going wrong."

"I can't believe you did that," Jinesa spat, looking angry. "He deserves to be here."

"He almost attacked someone, Nes," Mattie pleaded softly, careful not to disturb anyone else around her. "He's trying so hard to adjust to the lifestyle, and we are doing our best to help him."

Jinesa looked me in the eyes, and for a moment, they softened, but it was a flicker and just as soon as it appeared, it was gone. I could tell that she already hated me, which was unfortunate because she didn't even know my name.

"Who are you?"

"Bella Cullen," I replied. "Your brother is doing well."

"Yes, well, if she would have kept her distance, we wouldn't be in this mess," she hissed. Her words dripped in pure acid. It was this simple statement that made me realize that Mattie wasn't lying; her daughter hated her.

"Perhaps, but what is done is done and cannot be changed." Mattie rubbed her hand on Jinesa's legs trying to soothe her. "Jinesa, this is Carlisle Cullen. He's going to be performing Anamaria's surgery."

I didn't know whether it was the fact Mattie was touching her, or if it was the thought of a vampire operating on the woman who had raised her, but Jinesa released a shiver. Her eyes met Carlisle's.

"Are you well controlled?" she asked, her voice muffled by her jeans.

"I wouldn't be doing this otherwise," he assured, turning to Gavin. "Do you think that I could meet her now and examine her for myself?"

"Sure." Gavin leaned down and kissed Jinesa on the forehead. "It will be okay Jin. I know it will."

Jinesa shook her head and leaned back in the reclining chair that she was sitting in. I heard a tiny muffled heartbeat for a fraction of a second, and then it was gone. Was this what Edward had heard when I was pregnant with Nessie before I had started piecing together the puzzle?

Mattie returned to her feet and glanced up at the infomercial on the small, bright television.

"Are you hungry?" she asked her daughter.

"I can't eat," Jinesa replied. "For the last few days, I haven't been able to keep anything down at all."

"Are you pregnant?" Mattie asked softly stroking her hair softly.

"Not that it's any of your business." She glanced up toward the ceiling. "Quinn and I have been trying for months now, and I've had so many negative tests. I don't want to be disappointed for another month, and I don't want to talk about it, so why don't you and Ms. Cullen go sit over there, away from me."

I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that one hurt, and I watched as Mattie's hopeful face crumbled into sadness. From her, it was an emotion I had only seen once, and I remembered back to what she had said on the plane. It made me wonder why Jinesa hated her. We sat on a couch near Jinesa, but still far enough away that her stiffened demeanor had relaxed.

We sat for several minutes in an incredible amount of uncomfortable silence. Jinesa stared at the television without blinking. If I hadn't known any better, especially knowing what I know now, I would have guessed that she was a vampire.

I looked around to the other people in the large waiting room. Several were asleep, others stood with their arms crossed, occasionally pacing, a few made short trips back and forth from their respective group to the window across the room. It was four in the morning now, and the waiting room to the emergency surgery department was a dreary place to be. I stared at the dark blue carpets, waiting patiently as time passed.

A stream of golden light came across the floor, followed by shadows. The shadows led to a set of feet, and I looked up at Gavin, who had a light smile drifting across his tired face.

"Dr. Cullen thinks that she is stable enough to sustain the surgery now," he said quietly. "She wants to see you, Mattie. They're prepping her for surgery now."

Mattie nodded and stood. She began to follow Gavin toward the door leading toward surgery, but she stopped suddenly at the door and met my eyes.

"Would you like to meet her, Bella?" she asked softly. I heard Jinesa snort in disgust, but I nodded and rushed to her side. My eyes drifted back to Jinesa for a split second as we walked through the doors to the bright and sterile area.

The halls reeked of old blood, bleach, alcohol, and iodine. Had I been human, the scent might have made me queasy, but I no longer had to deal with those human weaknesses. We stopped at a blue-grey curtain, and waited as Gavin peaked his head into the opening. I heard Carlisle on the other side, talking in a soft reassuring tone and a weak woman answering.

"She's here, and she brought Bella with her," Gavin said gently.

"I just want to see her before I go," the woman answered, "and I don't mind if Bella is with her."

Gavin stood back, holding the curtain open enough for the two of us to get through, but didn't follow us in. Mattie rushed to her sister's side and took her hand. Carlisle excused himself to finish preparations.

Anamaria held several of her sister's similarities, but she held several differences as well. Even while she was laying down, I could see that she was at least five' three, her skin was white, more than likely from the heart attack, her mousey brown hair hung limp and dull on her shoulders, and her brown eyes were full of love and concern.

"How are you?" she croaked.

"I come to see you in the hospital, and you ask me how I am." Mattie masked her concern with a gentle laugh. "I'm worried about you."

"Oh don't worry about me." She smiled. "I'm going to outlive you, remember?"

"And don't you forget it." Mattie laughed, stoking her sister's forehead. Anamaria closed her eyes.

"That feels good," she mumbled softly before she opened her eyes again and met my own. "You must be Bella."

"Yes," I replied with a smile. She adjusted her nasal canola and fidgeted with her puke green gown.

"I wish that we could have met under better circumstances," she laughed, "but I had to get her here somehow."

"All you had to do was ask." I grinned. "Jasper and Alice would have shoved her on the plane kicking and screaming."

"She would have put up a fight." Anamaria allowed herself a grin as she glanced up at her sister. "How's my Shotgun doing?"

"He's fine." Mattie carefully sat on her sister's bed careful not to sit on any IV tubing. "A pain in the ass on occasion, but he's adapting well."

"He was always the wild one that knew how to go with the flow," she said, fidgeting. "What do you think of him, Bella?"

"Gunnar?"

"No, the president," she said sarcastically. "Yes. Gunnar."

"I don't know," I replied thoughtfully. "I haven't had the chance to get to know him very well yet. Maybe one day Mattie and Edward can get into an all out battle of the wits, and I can sit down and talk to him."

"The two of you are still at it?"

"We will always be at it," Mattie sighed. "Even after all these years, he and I can't coexist very well together for more than a week."

"What about Emmett? And his wife, Rosalie?"

"Em is still a big bear and Rose is Rose."

"We went paint balling today," I said, walking to her other side. "Rosalie shot Emmett in the back of the head in the first few seconds of the game."

Anamaria's laughter was soft and weak. For a moment, her eyes flitted closed, and her heart rate dropped by twenty beats, but they flitted back open.

"Damn pain medication," she muttered out of irritation.

"We should go," Mattie started to slide of the bed, but was stopped by her sister gripping her wrist.

"Stay," she begged, and I could see a flicker of fear behind her eyes. "At least until Carlisle kicks you out. I want to know about how it's going with you; it's been over a month now since I've really had a chance to talk to you."

"You aren't going to die," Mattie whispered to her, sitting back down.

I shouldn't have been there. I should've just left and given them their time together before Anamaria would've been whisked off to the operating room. I wondered if I could slip out through the curtains and return to the waiting room where Jinesa sat. I inched slowly toward the curtain and slipped out, making my way down the corridor toward the door leading to the waiting room.

Jinesa had remained in the recliner, and was rubbing her eyes. She looked exhausted. I sat on the couch near her and crossed my legs.

"Why did you come?" she asked softly. I was shocked in the sudden question.

"Your—" I stopped myself before I could allow mom to slip out. "Mattie asked me to come."

"Want to take a walk?" she asked, putting the footrest down and standing up. I was timid to take her up on the offer.

"Sure." I stood and followed her out of the waiting room doors. She led me to the elevator and hit the down button.

"I need coffee," she mumbled as we entered the elevator, and she hit the button for the first floor. "Gavin is tying up loose ends with Dr. Cullen. It's a few blocks, and I don't want to walk alone."

"Oh," I said as we arrived on the first floor and made our way toward the exit. Outside, the clouds had gathered, and soon it would start raining.

"Is she telling the truth about him?"

"About Gunnar?"

"Yeah." She shoved her hands into the large front pocket of her oversized Mizzou hoodie.

"Afraid so," I replied, shoving my own hands in my pockets.

"Damn," she muttered. "I told him that would happen if he let her turn him."

"Let her?"

"Well, 'let her' is an understatement," she said as she roughly punched the crosswalk button. "He's wanted this since he was sixteen. She finally caved."

I didn't want to tell her the circumstances surrounding Gunnar being turned. It wasn't my place to tell her that her brother had set his mother up for a trap. Hopefully, someone would set that record straight.

"Why do you hate her?" I asked. There was a moment of tense silence as Jinesa pondered her answer.

"Has she ever told you that she killed someone so that she could have a grave?"

"She what?"

"Yeah, when she was deemed a lost cause the police on my third birthday." She paused as if she was waiting for shock, but I kept my mouth closed. "Then mysteriously a year later, the charred remains of a body turned up floating down the river in a suitcase. It fit her height description and had her wallet floating along with it. According to the autopsy, that woman had been dead for a year, which made it look like my mother was kidnapped, tortured to death, and then burned beyond recognition. The investigators had no choice but to take the body and declare it as Matilda May Harlow because of the wallet."

"How do you know this?" I tried to sound unfazed by this new information.

"I asked for the police report a few years ago," she glanced at me again checking for some change in emotion. Mattie hadn't said anything about this.

"Are you sure that she killed that woman?"

"Please don't play dumb," she said sourly. "She is what she is no matter what kind of bullshit she tried to feed us a few years ago."

"She was with the Cullens though," I said, hoping to defend Mattie. Later I would ask her for all the facts. For now, I had to settle for what Jinesa could tell me, no matter how one sided it was.

"I'm sure she could get away at some point to drain a body, burn it, and stuff the remains in a suitcase."

I could say nothing to defend her. For all purposes, I hoped that Jinesa was wrong.

"Why would she do that, though?"

"Million dollar life insurance policy that she had taken out on herself," she said coldly. "She wanted to be sure that we were taken care of. Want to know the real kicker?"

"What's that?"

"The police think that it was my father that killed her."

"Wow." I glanced at her again looking to see if she was lying. "Have you heard anything out of him?"

"Never. He has stayed gone since he left her. I blame her for everything that has happened. If she would have been a better wife, he wouldn't have left. If he hadn't have left, she wouldn't have been turned into the monster that she is, and I would still have my brother."

We arrived outside of a convenience store. I waited outside while she went in to get her coffee. She returned several moments later, holding a box of doughnuts with two large cups of coffee perched on top.

"Mind helping me?"

"Sure." I took the box from her hands carefully balancing the two coffees on top. She took one of the cups and carefully started drinking.

"Shall we?"

I nodded, and we made our way back to the hospital. We were silent the whole way back. A police officer stopped us when we crossed the street just outside the hospital doors.

"Are you ladies doing alright?" he asked.

"We're fine officer," Jinesa replied. "My aunt is in surgery, and we just came out to get coffee and doughnuts. Would you like one?"

"No thank you," he replied. "It isn't safe for you girls to be wandering around in the dark. Dangerous criminals, you know."

"We're heading back in now. Thank you for your concern." She smiled as he rolled his window back up. "Not that we're in any real danger anyway. A vampire as a bodyguard is better than nothing."

We returned to the surgical floor where we were met by the waiting eyes of Gavin and Mattie.

"They took her back five minutes ago," Gavin said.

"Good, because the sooner she's in recovery, the sooner you guys can get back to your lives." Jinesa took the coffee from the top of the box, and handed it to her uncle. "Black with four sugars. Just the way you like it."

I watched Mattie close her eyes and sigh heavily through her nostrils. She had accepted that her own daughter hated her, but Jinesa continuously rubbed buckets of salt in her wounds. I couldn't take the tension, so I excused myself to make the call to Edward that I should have made two hours ago when our plane touched down at the airport. I took the elevator down to the second floor where I found an empty waiting room. I shuffled through my list of numbers, and hit send once I found Edwards number.

"Did you guys make it in okay?" Edward's voice rang over the other line.

"Yes," I replied with an edge in my voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. "I have a question for you."

"Okay…" He paused briefly. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure," I paused, attempting to choose my words.

"Is Anamaria okay still? Alice had a vision that everything would be alright."

"Anamaria is fine," I sighed. "Did Mattie ever disappear when she was up in Alaska with you guys the first time?"

"No, why?"

"She has a grave Edward," I said, sighing in relief. She couldn't have killed anyone when she was up with them. "Her daughter said that she killed someone, burned the body, and stuffed the remains in a suitcase so that she would have a grave."

"That's absurd," he laughed, waiting for my own laughter. It didn't come and this worried him. "You don't think that she did that do you?"

"I don't know what to think Edward," I said pacing the floors nervously. "Jinesa just told me that when she came back, they found a body, attached her name to it, and buried it."

"No, I don't think that she would kill anyone, not even for that." He paused, sounding even unsure to himself. "At least I don't think that she would do that. Have you asked her?"

"Not yet; we just got back from a coffee run."

"We? Who's we?"

"Jinesa and I."

"You can't believe everything that comes out of Jinesa's mouth," I heard Gunnar say on the other end. "She's spiteful."

"Is he sure about that?"

"Seems to be pretty sure, but just to be safe, ask Mattie yourself."

"I will," I sighed, almost relieved. "Is everything still okay there?"

"Just as exciting as when you guys left." I could hear some laughter. "Emmett is taking losing pretty bad and for some strange reason we just found him in a closet. When do you think you will be home?"

"We might be coming back sooner than expected; Carlisle thought that she was stable enough to go ahead with the surgery. They took her back not too long ago."

"That's good to hear." He mumbled the information to Gunnar who was undoubtedly sitting right next to him. I heard a sigh of relief followed by a 'thank God.' "I hope that everything will go well so that you can get home soon. You've only been gone a few hours, and I already miss you, love."

"I know, I miss you, too, and Nessie." I stopped by the window. "I can't wait to come home."

"We'll be right here waiting."

"Sounds great. I'm gonna go ahead and go back up before someone comes looking for me. I love you."

"I love you, too, but, hey, just ask her. I don't think that she'll be mad at you for Jinesa's spiteful words."

"I'll keep that in mind." I hung up and stared out the window as I shoved the phone back into my pocket. A familiar scent of orchids wafted into the room.

"I didn't kill her, Bella," Mattie said softly.

"Then where did you get the body?"

"She killed herself." She slowly came towards me. "She left behind an eight page letter to her family on why she did it. Well I say that she left it behind; she mailed it actually."

"You stole a dead woman's remains?" I paused.

"She didn't want to be found. She drove into the middle of nowhere, overdosed, and set her car on fire." She sat down crossing her arms against her chest. "I was hunting when I had the vision, and when I got there, it was too late. She was dead."

"Oh," I sat next to her and looked straight ahead. "Jinesa said that-."

"Jinesa hates me because I didn't stay dead." She released a long, steady breath. "When parents die when you are too young to remember it, they aren't supposed to come back as other beings. I would visit once every two years for one hour. I was Ivy Litrell, my oldest sister, at first, but then as they got older, I had to assume the name Madalyn Carlisle, who is Ivy's daughter."

"How many names have you been through?"

"Well I was born Matilda Masen, but when I married Marius I became a Harlow." Her eyes drifted as she began ticking off the names. "Then, when I left the Cullens, I became Matilda Carlisle. I spent five years with that name and switched to being a Litrell. Another five years passed, and it changed to Bennett, and a year after I did that, Gunnar figured out who I was."

"Because of the football practice?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to see how he was doing." She met my eyes. "I think he would have figured me out eventually even if he hadn't seen me that day."

"So you didn't kill her?"

"No." She bit her lip. "The worst part about it is the woman who's remains are in my grave was the woman that I saved before I killed Vincent. Her name was Sylvia Bennett. She was a twenty-seven year old battered housewife whose husband had murdered their son. She couldn't go on living without a reason to live."

"That's horrible." I traced Mattie's face for some semblance of guilt or regret. There was none. "You don't feel guilty of taking her body."

"No. I think that it is what she would have wanted."

We were silent for several minutes. There was a question that was burning, but I wasn't sure if I should ask. I didn't want to offend her, but she did seem to be open for answering questions at the moment. I sighed lightly.

"Why didn't you ask Edward to come along with us?"

"Because Nessie needs one of her parents." She smiled thoughtfully. "And you know the phrase 'two peas in a pod'?"

"I think everyone has heard that one. Why?"

"Edward and I are more like two live hand grenades in a pocket." She crossed her arms and grinned. "We don't know who is going to blow first, but we know it's going to happen."

"I haven't noticed," I said sarcastically. "You told me that you have a brother too. Does he know?"

"No, he doesn't, and he took my death hard." She stared at the floor intently. "He's in prison now, serving a twenty-five year sentence. Kyrin went out after the funeral and got so drunk that he assaulted a man, stole his car, and then when he was finally apprehended, he assaulted two of St. Louis officers. He comes up on parole in three months. Anamaria visits him occasionally, but she is still upset with what he did."

"How did everyone else take it?"

"Hard." She leaned forward still staring at the floor. "My father was adamant that they find my killer. My mother put herself in a mental institution for a few years. She still struggles with everything, but is holding on. My adoptive parents held it together because they had two kids that are just a few years older than Gunnar and Jinesa, but they just barely held it together. Are you asking because you're curious about how Charlie is going to take it if you were to 'die'?"

"No, I was just wondering." I didn't take offense to her question, she probably didn't mean anything by it. "I was just wondering, because it seems like you and your sister are close."

"We are. If it weren't for her I don't think I could have held it together. When Carlisle releases her in a couple of days, I'm going to stay with her for a bit just to make sure everything is okay. You guys can go home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

_Ahh what fun, more insight into Mattie's life. Life is hectic at the moment. I have chapter 9 written which is something several of you guys have been requesting. More of Gunnar. Honestly when I started writing his character he was simply just to be there. The imprint wasn't planned, it was just how it flowed. As a character he actually kinda scares me. The next chapter is short, massivly short actually. That is because I'm still not sure about his character._

_**BTW June 17th was my 21st birthday! So I wan't birthday reviews peoples!!!!!** No I didn't get trashed because for one I'm broke, and two I live in a small town where the bar doesn't even carry hard alcohol (and I like to drink Rum and Cokes) and I wasn't driving to the bigger city because I'm not into that whole driving under the influence crap. But to be honest I had my first legal drink before noon.  
_

_**twilight-is-lovee **- you seriously rock so don't sweat it. If I really need it I'll tell you. Our lives get hectic trust me._

_**Yaoi-Gurl-Xia** - hey sis!_

_**nature love 95** - nice to see ya! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next round._

_**wildcatjen221** - I hope that you enjoyed the furthering insight into Mattie's character. She has been the easiest character that I've had to develop to date._

_**FrequentlyDazzled917** - Glad you enjoyed and I hope that you liked my taking the background another step further. As far as the Masen thing goes... Stick around for chapter 9 and there's a nice little tidbit in there about it. _

_**Forever**_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell**_


	10. Sketchbook

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post Breaking Dawn. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you in that reflection. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Your altar ego?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Carlisle, Gunnar Harlow

**Chapter Nine  
Sketchbook**

"**She seemed dressed in all of me**

**Stretched across my shame**

**All the torment and the pain**

**Leaked through and covered me**

**I'd do anything to have her to myself**

**Just have her for myself **

**Now I don't know what to do**

**I don't know what to do**

**And she makes me sad."**

**-Vermilion part 2 by Slipknot**

Seth went home while Carlisle and I were in St. Louis, and when I arrived home, I was very surprised to see that Leah was still with us. She sat on a couch several feet away from Gunnar, who was silently channel surfing. Suddenly, he stopped, put the remote down, and settled in more comfortably in his seat, watching a graying man with a severe five o'clock shadow walking up a hall with a cane and a bad limp.

"I thought you said that you were going to let me have the remote for a while," she grumbled.

"Shh, House is on," he grumbled back.

"It's two seasons old, and you want to watch it again?" she sighed heavily, pushing herself off the couch, mumbling about Gunnar being a selfish bastard.

"Trouble in paradise?" I asked carefully, keeping the mocking tone out of my voice. Leah glared at me while Gunnar's eyes stayed glued on the television screen. I heard footsteps coming from behind me and smelled Jake's familiar scent as he walked into the room.

"You could say that, if you call being imprinted to a bloodsucker paradise," she sniped, glancing sidelong at Gunnar, who was still ignoring her.

"They aren't that bad to hang around, Leah," Jake said, eating a large spoonful of ice cream. "Besides, since you imprinted, didn't you have a recent visitor?"

For a moment, I thought that Leah might kill Jake, but suddenly, she stopped and sat down. I looked around the room, wondering if Jasper was around sending out his waves of calm energy, but he was nowhere in sight. My eyes fell upon Gunnar, who had a very small smile playing across his lips.

"I hate when you do that, by the way," Leah said weakly.

"Do what?" Gunnar asked innocently, turning his gaze upon Leah, who looked down at the floor as though she had gotten caught staring.

"Don't play dumb," she spat. I shot a questioning look to Jake, who planted his spoon in his mound of ice cream.

"Gunnar figured out a new trick." He gave a Cheshire cat grin. "He can change our minds about things. He reads our minds, and then, if he doesn't like what we're doing, he'll change our minds for us."

"How did you figure that one out?" I asked. Gunnar turned to look at me. "No funny business. Not that you can read my mind to change it anyhow."

"I got annoyed with Emmett a few hours after you guys left, and I thought, 'man, it would be so cool to have him go up to the top floor and lock himself in a closet and stay there for the next two days,' and he just stopped what he was doing and disappeared upstairs. He was in there for hours before we decided to go look for him."

"He looked so positively clueless." Jake swirled his spoon around the softening ice cream. "We asked him why he was in a closet, and he just said that he didn't know why, but he thought he should go sit in the closet for a couple days."

"I felt bad at first, but then I remembered why I thought it." Gunnar stretched in a very cat like manner.

"He deserved it," Leah mumbled.

"What did he do?"

"He was moaning and groaning that you made a cheap-shot, while I was distracted during the game." He shrugged very nonchalantly. "I told him winning is winning, and we are going to have to give into them no matter what. He just wouldn't stop going on and on about it though."

"And I still think that it was a cheap-shot." Emmett came in through the side door from the dining room.

"I can put you back in the closet," Gunnar said, chuckling.

"Oh, no you don't, Puppet Master." He clapped his hand on my shoulder. "You see, Bella is here, and she'll be my shield."

"You think so, do you?"

"Well, you will…" He gave me an innocent pouty look. "…won't you?"

"Sorry, but this time you are on your own." I smiled and started to leave the room. I was halfway upstairs when I heard rapid footsteps behind me. When I turned around, I met Gunnar's red eyes, which were beginning to fade to a dark orange. Soon they would be golden like everybody else.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Mattie is holding it together. She's better now that your Aunt is getting better. Why?"

"I don't know." He paused, looking at the floor for a moment. "Can we go for a walk or something? Heck, a drive. I have the keys to the Charger."

"Have you had any more slips?"

"No, I haven't. I went out by myself a few days ago and came back just fine." He tried to hide the fact that he didn't want to explain himself. "There are just some things I want to get off my chest, and I feel like I can talk to you, and you would understand."

"Okay." I searched his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out why he wanted to talk to me. Then again, I didn't understand why Mattie came to me most of the time either. I silently wondered why they were drawn to me.

"Walk or drive?" he asked.

"How about a drive?" I replied. "I'm going to tell Edward we're going, and I'll meet you out by the cars."

He smiled and walked back downstairs while I finished walking back up the stairs wondering what he wanted to talk about.

Edward was upstairs tutoring Nessie in Algebra. Naturally, we couldn't send her to school, so homeschooling was therefore our only option. At this point, she would know enough to graduate high school in a little less than two years. We had agreed that once her development slowed, we would send her to school for her senior year. It gave her the chance to be "normal," though in truth she would never be normal. Still, we hoped to give her some normality.

Nessie's shining brown eyes met my own, and she grinned brightly.

"Hi, Mommy," she said in that musical voice. "I'm happy you're home."

I smoothed her copper waves and kissed her on the cheek. I vaguely remembered Jinesa, and how upset she was of her mother's existence, but I dismissed the things she had told me while I was there. After two days, I isolated myself from her. I hoped that Nessie would always have love for me.

"Did Gunnar tell you that he wanted to talk?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, do you know what about?"

"Not a clue." He frowned, looking at Nessie's paper. "He's developed his mother's habit of singing in his head. Though, if he wanted me to know, he would have told me."

"Well, we're going to go out for a drive." I leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss. "Did you guys know that he went out on his own?"

"I do know, and I wasn't happy with him, but he explained that he needs to push himself. 'Endure the torture of that sweet scent' were his exact words, actually."

"He won't fail," Nessie mumbled. "He misses his sister. Mommy, can we adopt a baby?"

"No," I said, sweeping a piece of hair from her perfect face.

"Darn, I was hoping you'd say yes," she said, smiling. Her attention flitted back to her work.

"Gunnar was telling great stories about his sisters and brother." He shook his head. "Apparently the four were close up until just a few years ago."

"Well, speaking of Gunnar, he's waiting for me," I said. "We shouldn't be too long, I hope. I love you."

"I love you," he mouthed, returning his full attention to Nessie as I left the room.

Gunnar was tossing the keys around to the Charger as I strolled up. He looked carefree for a second in time, but once that second had passed, he was looking at me. Without a word, he unlocked the car and strolled around to the front, sliding into the front seat.

I had never actually seen the inside of the Charger. The seats were covered in blood red leather, and did not smell of Mattie's scent of orchids. Instead, they smelled spicy, like expensive men's cologne. The car's engine purred like a very content kitten. There was a CD in the player that sounded like someone was screaming.

"This isn't your mom's car, is it?" I asked. He smirked and put the car in reverse.

"It was a graduation gift," he told me. "I graduated from college this past December and traded in my Mustang for this one. Have to say I'm enjoying the trade."

He took off down the driveway, and was on the highway possibly quicker than Edward could imagine. I looked around as the trees whirred by and looked over at Gunnar.

"Shouldn't you slow down? You aren't quite like your mom and Edward," I reminded him.

"Bella, I'm a street racer. As a human, I made cops look like a sixteen year old kid on his first day of driver's ed." He grinned. "Now, I'm a vampire. However I will slow down if it would make you more comfortable."

He slowed to a mere eighty miles per hour, only twenty-five over the posted speed limit. I looked around the car, trying to take in what he might have been like before. I spotted a sketchbook and grabbed it.

"May I?"

"By all means," he said, speeding around a corner.

I opened the book, and my eyes fell upon a picture taken from a black and white photograph of Mattie. She was stretched on a couch wearing a black dress. Her hair was done in tight curls, and she looked like a nineteen forties movie star. I noticed as I continued flipping through his sketches that he copied photographs and made the copy look better than the original.

The song changed to a more mellow tune sang by the same artist.

"What are we listening to?"

"At the moment, Vermilion part two by Slipknot." He slowed as we reached an open field, and I noted that he wasn't making his way toward civilization; he was running farther from it. I flipped past a sketch of Jinesa, and my eyes fell on someone unexpected. My jaw fell open as I admired it.

"You've done a picture of Leah?" I said breathlessly.

"I did that about three months ago." He pulled into a gravel driveway that lead to a wooded area and parked. "I dreamt of her for a month before that. It seemed like every time I closed my eyes, she was there telling me to search for her, find her, and claim her. Unfortunately, I just didn't know what to do, so I started pressuring Mom to turn me."

"That's why you weren't shocked by the imprint," I said, flipping the page to another sketch of her sitting on a rock, overlooking the ocean. I recognized the cliffs of La Push.

"Mom told me that she didn't believe she had the control to turn me and not kill me. I had to keep pushing her, but she wasn't budging. I asked her why she wouldn't be moved, and she told me that she saw my future disappear, which for her, made her think that she would kill me." He sighed. "I had to find her, though."

"Is that why you—?"

"Tried to kill myself?" He frowned. "Yes and no. A week before I did it, I was going to leave my mother and not come back. She seemed content with that, and I started packing my stuff, but Leah came to me in my dreams and told me that I needed to try harder. When Mom left for work, I struggled for hours, trying to figure out what to do. I'd never tried to kill myself before that, and I didn't want to be completely gone before she came home. I timed everything down and overdosed on morphine for the pain, and cut myself open about twenty minutes before she got home."

"Then, when I saw Leah for the first time, it all fit together. She was no longer a woman who danced around in my dreams, she was really there. I'm a theater major, so I'm good about putting up a front. I've known her for a week, and I don't know how to approach her, which is a first for me. She scares me."

"Have you told anyone else about this?" I asked, attempting to keep the shock out of my voice.

"No, not even my mother," he sighed. "She believes that I wanted to be her companion, and I don't. I needed her to get to Leah."

"And you felt compelled to tell me this?" I flipped the book closed.

"Nobody can read your mind, you seemed safe, and you just remind me of my mother without the hot temper."

"Temper?"

"Just wait, one of these days she'll snap, probably on Edward because those two bicker like brother and sister rather than cousins."

"Cousins? They're related?" I asked.

"The name Masen isn't a coincidence for the two of them. His father had a younger brother, and within two generations, my mother was born."

"Does he know?"

"I think so. She did the genealogy quite a few years ago and sent it to him. It makes sense when you think about it. He's a mind reader, and she's a mind reader, but she got her gifts from both sides. My grandmother is a touch sensitive psychic, which is where she gets the memory transference and the ability to see the future."

"Small world," I mumbled. We sat for several long minutes in silence.

"What should I do about Leah?" he asked quietly. "I'm a vampire, she's a shape-shifter. We're supposed to be enemies, and she's tied to me."

"Well…" I let out a breath that I hadn't realized that I had been holding. "Perhaps you should start small. For one, give her the remote every once in a while, and then soon perhaps you can work up to dating."

He chuckled.

"I don't know all that much about imprinting. I know that once they have found their perfect counterpart, they will do anything for them, but that doesn't stop the other from walking away. You have freedom."

I remembered Jake telling me that in time, if Nessie didn't love him when she was old enough, then she could walk away. It would hurt, but she could walk away and see others.

"I want her." He stared out the window. "I want her more than anything in this world. I just don't know how to approach it."

"With great ease, when it comes to Leah." I sighed. "She's already been hurt once."

"Hurt? What happened?"

"A few years ago, she was involved with another one of the shape-shifters." I looked at him. "His name was Sam. They had been together since high school. One day, her cousin came down, and one look and Sam was tied to her. It broke Leah's heart to lose him."

"I don't want to do that to her," he mumbled. "I've given up mortality for her."

"There's a good start for the two of you." I held up the sketchbook. "Tell her what you saw. Let her know that you're here for her."

"And pray that she doesn't think I'm some crazy stalker," he laughed. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

"No," I mumbled. I wanted to tell him about Edward when he went away, but I didn't think that would help much.

"I'm not good at this," he sighed. "I mean, I dated a few girls in high school. My sister set me up with one of her husband's friends, but there was just nothing. I never thought that the girl of my dreams would fall into my lap like this."

"Things just work that way sometimes." I paused for a second. "Heck, when I met Edward, he wanted to eat me."

"What?"

"Yeah, I smelled like the sweetest wine to him." I shook my head. "He described me as his own personal brand of heroin."

"Look at you now, though." He held his hands out. "You married him, the two of you have a beautiful daughter, and you're happy. I'm not sure I can make her happy."

"Well, then give her the damn remote."

We both burst out laughing. Our laughter died after a few moments, and he met my eyes.

"Thank you."

"It's not a problem. Though you should probably come clean to Mattie about why you did this."

"In time." He glanced down at the steering wheel. "She's going to have a lot on her plate soon."

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

When I finally got around to finishing the writing of this chapter I was at a serious wall (note how short it is). I draw inspiration from music and therefore will listen to song after song after freaking song in order to draw inspiration. Well one day I was listening to my Jack playlist and Vermilion part two came on and I thought "OMG this makes me think of Leah and Gunnar!" Hey just because I don't have Gun fully developed doesn't mean that I don't have their relationship developed. The song is awesome is is in the top ten of my favorite Slipknot songs. I'm banned from listening to Slipknot in the car because it does not help my lead foot.

There was originally a lot more planned for this chapter including an extensive debate on what Wolverine would be like if he were bitten by a vampire. It was very well thought out, but sadly the process was interrupted by a month long stint of my computer be in the safe "capable" hands of the Geek Squad at the time. Again I am a little scared of writing Gunnar. I have nobody to really base his character off of and therefore no experiences to take from. I love House and thought that I might give The Wonderful and Amazing Hugh Laurie a nod. I want a doctor to be like House, but I get pissy when I go to the doctor (probably because I'm in the medical field) so not a good idea. I'm still developing Gunnar so fret not.

There is another character who is fully developed that I have to bring in. I know all of the characters can get confusing. But hey in my defense I didn't follow all of the Volturi guard so there. If you are in any way shape or form confused by any character just drop a note: I am more than willing to explain. This character I get to have all kinds of fun with and he is fully developed in my mind.

So what can you expect out of the next chapter?????? A list of Mattie's cars? Guitar Hero? Update on Anamaria? A drag race????? Stay tuned the next chapter is more fun.

**nature love 95** - Yes Jinesa is Mattie's daughter and Gunnar's twin. See above note.

**Keely Jade** - Where the heck have you been? JK. Glad you enjoyed.

**FrequentlyDazzled917** - I was like sixteen when I started doing individual notes to my reviewers in the chapters and I figure hey what they heck. Ana is definately going to pull through because if I didn't have her pull through then my little sister would kick my ever living ass. TY for the birthday note... It sucked, but I took my first legal sip of alcohol.

**Yaoi-Gurl-Xia** - Thankies! Keep your damn head up sis!


	11. Chapter 11 Homecoming

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda "Mattie" Masen, Gunnar Harlow

**Chapter 10**

**Homecoming**

Another two weeks had passed before we heard from Mattie again. Apparently, she had been very busy taking care of Anamaria, but she was due to come home today.

"Do you need someone to pick you up from the airport?" I had asked during our phone call earlier that morning.

"No need. I flew to Pennsylvania last night to pick up some things. I'm driving the rest of the way. I should be home by early afternoon, if not earlier."

Carlisle went to work after we received the call, and Esme went out to hunt

Now several of us were playing the waiting game patiently in the living room. Some of us were playing better than others. Gunnar had been pacing the floors since about eight in the morning, while Leah watched with her arms crossed over her stomach. We were all certain that he might leave a permanent ten feet trail.

"Please sit down," Leah said in a pleasantly warning tone.

"Can't," he muttered. "Too nervous."

"Fine," she sniped. "Sit down before I knock you down and sit on you."

He stopped dead in his tracks with a sheepish grin on his face and took a seat between Leah and Emmett. Thankfully, he had followed my advice and talked to Leah about what had been happening to him months before they ever crossed paths. Surprisingly, she was okay with it. The relationship was budding.

Edward appeared in the door, a faint smile playing across his lips.

"Shouldn't be long now," he said, sitting down next to me. "Alice said five minutes or so."

"You seem chipper about her coming back." I eyed him in mock suspicion.

"We're not always like two live hand grenades." He smiled.

"How to you know she said that?" I asked, slightly baffled.

"Because we are," he smirked, "and Gunnar was the one who thought it to begin with."

"Well, you two are," Gunnar mumbled.

Emmett grinned in his corner of the couch, bouncing like a child.

"Wonder what she's driving," he said, sounding like a two year old at Christmas.

"Dunno." Gunnar looked up at the ceiling. "I have no doubt that she took the Camaro back to Anamaria. She won't drive the GTO. The Challenger still had something wrong with it, which reminds me… Jake, can you take a look at it?"

"Sure." Jake grinned. "I've never worked on one before, but I'm sure that I can figure it out."

"Why not ask me?" Rosalie asked, sounding a little offended. "I would probably know what I was doing better than the pup."

"Play nice, children," I warned. "I don't want to ask Gunnar to separate the two of you."

"Yes, mother," Jake mocked.

"That just leaves the Shelby," Gunnar continued, finishing the list of cars.

"No way," Emmett said, looking as though he might possibly explode. "A Shelby Mustang?"

"It is the most beautiful nineteen sixty-eight GT five hundred painted in the subtle shade of gunpowder. Other than my sister and I, that car is her pride and joy."

"Don't hump the car, guys," Edward warned, shooting glances between Emmett and Jake.

"I will do my best to contain myself, Edward." Jake grinned. "But I make no promises."

"Seriously, though, Jake," Gunnar continued, running a hand through his blond hair. "Hump the car, and for her, it will be on like Donkey Kong."

"Okay, Puppet Master," he said, still grinning. Gunnar shoved him playfully.

"Boys," Leah grumbled. "The faster the toy, the more they want to play with it."

"Not always," I said, looking at Rose. "I'm sure you'd want to give it a look."

She nodded her eyes showing interest. Leave it to Rose to want to look over a classic car.

"I think the Vanquish could take it," Edward said, smirking at Gunnar.

"I wouldn't get too cocky Edward," Alice said, dancing back into the room. She had to go a few miles away in order to see when Mattie would be home. "However, if you want a challenge, she's beyond up for it. In fact, I think that she's expecting it."

"And you're going to keep translating 'we all live in a yellow submarine' into French so I won't know the outcome."

"Yep." She beamed.

A faint rumble made its way up the drive, and we all turned to look. I shot a look at Gunnar who had a look of pure smugness as he stood and sauntered out of the living room.

"Leah," Jake said with a smirk. "I think he's gay."

"He's not gay," she shot back, standing to follow him with her arms still crossed over her stomach.

"Well, he doesn't drive a powder blue Prius, but still nobody moves like he just did," he said, trying to stifle laughter. "The walk that just say I'm gay."

There was no retort. Point for Leah. I smiled at Edward as we walked hand-in-hand out to greet Mattie.

Mattie was already parked and getting out when we made it out to greet her. She looked around curiously as if she had no idea what was going on at all. Her grey t-shirt dress blew a little in the wind as she watched us. Gunnar picked her up in a tight hug, lifting her nearly a foot off the ground. He set her back down with her four-inch stilettos, which gave a faint tap as they hit the ground. Her eyes were still set on all of us.

"Hiii," she drug out, looking around at everyone. "Am I in trouble for something I don't know about?"

I watched as Jake and Emmett went around the back of the car in pure childlike admiration. Occasionally they would point at something and smile.

"Not as far as I'm aware," I said, smiling. "How's Anamaria?"

"Fine." She stopped and turned to look at Emmett and Jake. "Hump my car, and Jake, I will break your leg, and as far as you go, Emmett, Gunnar would gladly stick you in the closet of a perfect stranger."

"But it's so pretty in person," Emmett whined. "Can I sit in it?"

"She's doing pretty good for open heart surgery. Pissed that she can't pick up a jug of milk, but she's mulling through." She grinned, ignoring Emmett's request. "And she says 'hello.'"

"How's Jin?" Gunnar asked quietly.

"She still hates me." She shot a glance at her son. "And she's pregnant. With something funnier that I could ever imagine."

"As long as it's not puppies, I won't be shocked." Gunnar puffed out his chest proudly.

"Nope." She smiled. "Quads."

"She might as well be having puppies," Jake mumbled to Emmett.

"Dude, I'll break your leg," Gunnar said, shooting Jake a murderous glance. "I take it back; I'm half shocked. Can't be too shocked because of the fertility treatments."

"Let's go catch up inside." Mattie started taking a few steps forward before she stopped and looked at Edward with a faint smile on her lips. "The Vanquish would give this car a good run for its money, but I would still beat you in a quarter mile straight away with half a second to spare."

"You've done your homework," Edward stated simply.

"I had a feeling you might want to challenge me, so yes I did my homework." She crossed her arms. "Your Vanquish will go zero to sixty in four point four seconds. Izzy, here, would be at sixty in three point nine."

"But does Izzy have the stamina to keep going?" Edward asked, mirroring her position.

"Is that a challenge, Edward?" Mattie questioned, almost taunting him.

"What if it was?"

"Later," she promised, bowing her head slightly in acceptance. "Oh, Gun, I brought Jack and Jill if you want to get them out."

"I love you," he said in a calm, even tone as he took the keys from his mother and went around to the trunk, elbowing Jake and Emmett playfully in the ribs before he opened it. I wondered who Jack and Jill were for a moment as I watched him. He pulled out two large guitar cases, one bright red leather, one black matte leather.

"Which is which?" I asked as he carefully balanced the two cases and closed the trunk.

"Jack is my bass here in the red case." He held up the red case. "Jill is my normal electric guitar."

"Yes, and that damn guitar is fickle as a female," Mattie called back to us. I hadn't even registered the fact that she was nearly inside, carrying a large bag full of stuff. "Even with vampire hearing, I still can't tune it."

She shrugged lightly and disappeared into the house with Rosalie behind her. I looked back at Jake and Emmett, who were still circling the car like kids in a candy store with one dollar. They didn't look sure if they should even touch it. After all, Gunnar had told us that this car was Mattie's baby, and she had threatened both of them.

"When did you get that?" Rosalie was asking Mattie in the living room.

"I found it in a junk yard about two years ago," she said moving things around in the bag she was carrying. "Most of it was still in one piece, but it took another six months to find the rest of it. Took a lot of money to get it back together."

"It's a beautiful car. Edward was thinking about challenging you when you got back."

"There's plenty of time for that," she mumbled. I watched as she pulled a book out of the back and flipped it open before holding it open to me with a smile playing across her lips.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This is the book I started putting together when I realized that my maiden name and Edward's former name was more than a coincidence." She paused for a moment. "I've gone back four more generations since Edward's grandparents."

"You could have gone back farther than that," Edward said, coming in behind me. "You've been distracted by something. What's going on?"

"Nothing." She looked down at the book and set it on the coffee table. For a moment, she continued digging through the bag and pulled out a cookbook. "I brought this for Nessie. She seems so eager to learn how to cook."

"Well, to feed that mutt, she's going to have to know how to cook," Rosalie commented with a broad smirk.

Beside me, I heard Edward give a heavy sigh and the smooth sound of the cotton of his shirt rub together as he crossed his arms.

"You're lying," Edward muttered. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Edward," Mattie repeated, sounding as though she was long past the conversation he was trying to have.

"Now you have me convinced," he said sarcastically.

"Edward, she says that there is nothing wrong," Rosalie warned. "Leave her alone."

"Stay out of my mind," Mattie warned. "I don't invade your thoughts, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't invade mine."

"It's hard when they are constantly mumbling." He walked a few steps closer to her. "Someone or something has you on the edge of madness."

"Can't tell you what I don't know," she growled. "I've seen a man in my visions. Someone who is going to cross my path, but I can't see his face, and therefore, I can't tell you what I don't know."

"Mattie!" I said in an irritated whisper.

"He wasn't around here when I saw him." She pulled out a grey and black game case. "At least I don't think he was. I'll keep an eye out because I don't want any danger coming close to this family."

"That's not all, is it?" Edward growled out.

"No, but that is a private matter that I would rather not discuss."

"You aren't even going to tell Gunnar, are you?"

"Tell me what?" Gunnar said as he appeared in the doorway flanked by Jake and Emmett.

"Edward! Now the cats out of the bag," Mattie chided more playfully. "I picked up Guitar Hero Metallica."

"Sweet," he said, walking forward eying her suspiciously. "Anything else you brought me?"

"There's more in the car if you want to bring it in," she said, her eyes flashing to Edward for a tenth of a second. "Maybe Emmett and Jake could help you. Just make sure that Emmett doesn't touch the keys."

"Alright." He continued to watch her suspiciously. "Let's go guys."

We waited until they were back to the car before turning on Mattie again.

"You mask your thoughts when you don't want to talk about things. You either want to talk about them, or you are so distracted by the issues that you're having to deal with that you don't have the amount of concentration to mask them." Edward's voice was low enough so that only the four of us could hear him.

"I don't know what to do about the man; he's a complete mystery. The second issue is one that I definitely don't want Gun to know about, because I would prefer to keep his record clean."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, obviously missing something they were discussing in their heads. Rosalie crossed her arms and watched the two.

"Jinesa," Edward mumbled.

"I gave her this address just in case anything happens," she said, staring into his eyes as if her life depended it. "If it happens again, I would like it if someone would go with me. If she shows up, then I would want to see to the outcome myself."

"I give it a month," Alice said quietly from the stairs. "We'll have a female visitor in a month."

"When she gets here, I'll go with you, too," Rosalie assured.

"Thanks," Mattie sat on the couch, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. I'd seen Edward do it thousands of times, but never noticed the similarity between him and Mattie.

"You guys really are related," I stated simply.

"I was pretty shocked too," she laughed, touching the book lightly. "I was going through some old pictures that my father's mother sent me before I even married my husband, and I found this picture taken in nineteen fifteen. It was just my grandfather Nickolas and Edward."

"Nickolas was four years old in that picture," Edward smiled. "Wouldn't sit still to save his own life. Did I hear right when you said that they lost all their money in the thirties?"

"Yeah, they moved from Chicago to Dallas when Nickolas was a teenager." She paused, listening to the air around us. There was a dull rumble from what seemed to be the end of the driveway.

"They're stealing the car," Rosalie said, sounding bored.

"Oh well." She pulled out her phone and began punching away at the keys that would make a typical teenager look like an amateur. "There's always a reason I do things. Where's Leah?"

"She went with them." Rosalie turned away from the window. "Emmett and Gunnar carried the car down the driveway."

"Figures," Mattie mumbled as her phone began playing the chorus of Metallica's 'Sad But True.' "Gun's driving; I'm not terribly worried. He knows Izzy's tricks. Now, if Emmett were driving, that would be a different story."

"Hey," Rosalie began to protest.

"I didn't mean it as an insult. He likes to get into the more fun situations, involving the requirement to a four by four. Not to mention I spent a minor fortune paying for that car."

"She has a point," Jasper said as he strolled through the doorway with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Wait, money matters to you?" Rosalie laughed.

"Yeah, it does, Rose," Mattie managed to hiss out. "I don't have three hundred years of fortune built up behind me. My family has had to work, since our fortune was lost in the Depression, something you would know nothing about."

I thought that a fight would probably ensue. Rosalie looked as if she might leap at any moment, but I felt Jasper's calming waves and watched as Rose take a step back.

"I need to go hunt." Mattie stood and started to leave. "Then I have a job interview to go to."

We all watched as she walked out the door. She ran out to the woods and was gone. I turned to Rosalie.

"Nice, Rose," I muttered as I sat where Mattie had been seated. I caught a glimpse of something small and leather. I reached down and pulled up a shiny, black, leather bra.

"Any strip clubs in the neighborhood?" I asked. Edward glanced at me and rolled his eyes as he looked at the bra.

"The White Rabbit."

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

_I've always had a thing for fast cars. I was going to have them playing Guitar Hero, but maybe I'll do something in a later chapter. I'm kinda going by the seat of my pants at the moment and things have already happened that weren't planned because I allowed my fingers to do the walking. Mattie and Edward will race the Shelby and the Vanquish any takers on who would win that one?  
_

_**twilight-is-lovee** - You're awesome in case I haven't told you that lately. And yes I took my first legal drink and I say that because I've been drinking in moderation for years. I've never been drunk though._

_  
**FrequentlyDazzled917** - Originally their relation was going to be non-existant and in snap decision I decided it would be ok given some similarities. _

_**nature love 95** - I thought that it would be sweet. It took a long time for me to figure out a reason as to why he should do what he did._

_**Yaoi-Gurl-Xia** - Why so nervous? There's no reason to be nervous._

_**Now I've been missing a few reviewers lately and those of you that have put this story on an alert/favorite list and have never reviewed. Feedback is a really nice thing to have and it lets me have some input and occasionally inspriation.**_

_**Forever **_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell**_


	12. Uninvited

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Beta:** twilight-is-lovee

**Rating:** T

**Summary:**Post BD. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Or someone else entirely?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Masen, Gunnar Harlow

**Chapter Eleven**

**Uninvited**

_"**Like anyone would be**_

_**I am flattered by your fascination with me**_

_**Like any hot-blooded woman**_

_**I have simply wanted an object to crave**_

_**But you, you're not allowed**_

_**You're uninvited."**_

_**Uninvited by Alanis Morisette**_

"I am not going down there," Gunnar said in a very matter of fact tone. "I have no desire to see her naked."

"Even if it means protecting her?" Leah asked. "She said the visions are getting closer and closer together with the man coming. We don't know who he is, and she still can't see his face."

I checked my phone again to make sure that Mattie hadn't sent me anymore messages. As expected, her visions of the faceless man scared her. She didn't like to be in the dark about what she didn't have to. None of us knew what he wanted, but she thought that he would be looking for her tonight.

"I don't want to see her naked either," Edward interjected, "but if you really feel that way you can stay here with Rosalie, Leah, and Emmett to look after Nessie."

"Fine, then, I will." Gunnar crossed his arms. "I don't need to be around humans anyway."

"Wuss," Emmett muttered.

"Whatever Closet Case," Gunnar spat, disappearing up the stairs.

Jake stepped up beside me with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't thrilled to be venturing into a strip club to help scan the crowd, but he agreed to come with us. The last thing we needed was to find the faceless man and he turned out to be a crazed murderer. He wouldn't be able to kill her, but it would be much better if we could get her away before she killed him.

However, what if it was someone who needed to talk to her and meant her no harm? Would we just walk away? Somehow, I doubted if we would go far just in case.

Jasper and Alice had suggested that the five of us ride separately in belief that it might look more natural. They had already left on the Ducati. Jake would be leaving in a few minutes, driving Mattie's bribe of the Shelby, and we would follow behind him in the Vanquish. If the man was a no-show, Edward wanted to challenge Mattie to a drag race.

I wouldn't admit it, but I was nervous about going into the strip club. The thought of naked women doing vulgar and incredibly obscene movements made me uncomfortable. Mattie had assured me that the way she danced wasn't like some girls who were trying to make a buck.

"You better go ahead, Jake," I said, checking the time. "We won't be far behind."

"At least I'll enjoy the drive over," he grumbled.

"Stay within the speed limit," I warned. He smiled at me, and I made a mental note to make sure I wouldn't over tip tonight in order to pay his speeding ticket.

"Emmett, you've been to a gentleman's club before," Edward began in a low voice.

"You're not getting out of this," I told him before he could finish his thought.

"I'm not trying to," he assured me. "I just need to know what is to be expected. Mattie gave me a few tips this morning, but I think she missed a few points. Do they really tip them with single dollar bills?"

"Mostly," he grinned, "but don't draw attention to yourself by over-tipping. I don't think she wants you carted off to the VIP lounge and given your own privet entertainer."

"I would rather that didn't happen either," I grumbled.

"And don't touch them," Gunnar called from upstairs. "The bouncers don't like it when you touch the girls."

"The only woman that I ever want to touch is Bella, so we don't have to worry about that," Edward mumbled, giving me a small smile. If it were possible, I would have blushed. Ah, one of that many perks of being a vampire.

We waited in silence for ten more minutes. I glanced down at my short black dress and matching stilettos, wishing that Alice would have let me choose my own outfit. However, she insisted much to my own and Edward's dismay. Edward's because of all the guys he'd have to "thwart off" from me tonight.

"I certainly hope that we catch whoever it is that keeps invading her thoughts, because I swear I will not do this again," I insisted.

"Yeah, who's whining now?" Gunnar called rather loudly through his laughter. Edward glared up the stairs, and for a tenth of a second, I wondered if he might go up to give Gunnar the chewing that he needed. Alas, he remained in place with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"We should go," he grumbled.

"Yeah." I took hold of his arm, and together, we walked to the front door. We drove in silence for a few moments before anything was said.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm never sure, but this guy could be really dangerous, right?" I said, making the question completely rhetorical.

"True," he said without taking his eyes off the road. "She promised to be on her best behavior."

"Which means what exactly?"

"She can't take everything off in the first place, because the White Rabbit serves alcohol." He paused. "But she does have to tease, and she promises to do what she can to avoid us if we are seated at the stage."

"So, we'll work all of the details out when we get there?" I asked timidly.

"I don't like this anymore than you do," he reminded me gently.

We drove the remaining ten miles to the outside of a large building lit up by neon signs. Edward pulled into an open spot next to Mattie's car. Neither of us made a move to get out for a moment.

"They're going to be all over you," I mumbled.

"I'm not interested, and you know that." He leaned over and kissed me gently. "Shall we?"

We climbed out of the car and went in the doors. Just ahead of us was another set of double doors, but we were greeted lazily by a large bald man in a long sleeved, black, dress shirt and tie. We paid twenty dollars to get in, and were handed wrist bands.

"So you can drink," Edward murmured in my ear. The door opened, and we were greeted by a woman with long, dyed blond hair, too much make up, and dressed in a simple short black skirt and plunging black shirt.

"What can I get you two a drink?" she said in a vain attempt to dazzle Edward with her smile. He ignored her and handed her a hundred dollar bill.

"Strawberry daiquiri for the lady and a rum and coke for myself." He took my hand, and we began to enter the double doors. The waitress mumbled something about finding a place to sit, and she would get our drinks. The music was entirely too loud, and the room smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and a strange flowery mix of perfumes. I scanned the room and spotted Jasper, Alice, and Jacob. They were talking to a woman dressed in what looked like an Alice in Wonderland Halloween costume. As we got closer, I realized that it was Mattie.

She looked different. Her hair was curled into soft waves that pulled the length close to her mid neck. There was black make-up that rimmed her golden eyes, and a clear gloss coated her full lips.

"Mattie?" I said catching her attention. She turned to me smiling and patting the open spot next to her.

"It's Malice while I'm here," she said as Edward and I sank into the plush leather seats. My eyes caught the glint of something metallic in front of me. I looked and noticed that the four by four square table in front of me had a pole going through the center of it.

"What in the world is that for?" I asked. Mattie chuckled, digging in her small purse and handing Edward a single bill.

"Here Edward, thanks for coming," she said as he accepted the bill and slipped it inside his pocket. "This is just a sitting area, if you pay one of the girls a hundred dollars they come over and dance in front of you for four songs."

"Why the Alice in Wonderland costume?" Edward questioned.

"I'm going to go change in just a little while." She looked down at her outfit and then around for a moment. "Your drinks are coming."

The blonde waitress appeared, holding a tray perched with our two drinks and a shot glass. She stopped at our area and handed Edward a large stack of single dollar bills followed by our drinks. He handed me a large glass of a frozen red concoction and gave the blonde a few dollars for a tip.

"It's been thirty minutes, Malice," she sneered, handing the shot glass to Mattie. "This round is tequila."

"Who's out now, Noel?" Mattie asked before downing the shot and handing back the glass.

"Harley, Amber, and Arielle." She smiled. "But even seventeen shots later you still look sober."

"I'm telling you, right now, I am." Mattie grinned. "It takes a lot more than that to get me drunk. Can you tell JC that my last set is going to be Three Days Grace's _Gone Forever_? Thanks, Noel."

"What the hell was that about?" I asked.

"Weekly drinking contest between the girls." She grinned. "It's the first and last one I'll be participating in, because I'm going to win, and they won't like that at all because I'll still be able to walk straight and do the pole tricks."

"I think that I saw that tall skinny one fall on her face when she was giving a table show," Jacob laughed. "Anyhow, as far as business goes, we're the only ones of our kind here."

"I noticed." Edward took a sip of his drink for show, and the look in his eyes made me remember when he took a bite of a slice of pizza for me.

"I'm probably just overreacting." Mattie crossed her legs carefully, and I noticed that she was wearing a pair of six-inch Mary Jane stilettos.

"How tall are you in those?" I asked, nodding to her shoes.

"Six-three. I'm not sure I like looking Jake in the eye." She adjusted the thigh length white stocking she was wearing and checked her pocket watch. "I've got fifteen minutes to get ready for my last set."

She stood and walked toward a green door.

"Who do you guys think it is?" Alice asked. Edward shrugged.

"I don't know," I said. "Her husband, maybe? He disappeared without a trace."

"He's probably dead by this point," Jacob suggested. "Not even his children have seen him. Doesn't she have brothers?"

"Yeah, but most of them had nothing to do with her even before. One is in prison, and the youngest is on the other side of the continent," Edward reminded.

"Could be a stalker," Jasper said simply.

"We'd have noticed a stalker at this point, and besides, she hears people, so I think we can rule that one out," Alice pointed out.

"So, quite simply, we just don't know," I said, looking over to the stage, where a tall and very thin blonde woman was finishing her set. We sat in silence for several moments just looking around at mostly drunken men who were receiving lap dances from pretty girls in tiny outfits. Mattie appeared from outside the green door, wearing a shiny black pair of leather chaps and matching corset. She had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and added dark red lipstick.

"She changed fast," Alice muttered. "I like that outfit."

She came to stand in front of us with a small smile painted across her lips.

"Whoever it is that's coming, he'll be here very shortly," she said. "Then, we get to really find out who the hell I keep seeing."

"Why do you do this?" I asked.

"I'm not following," she muttered sitting very casually on Jasper's lap and placed her hand very non-nonchalantly on Alice's knee.

"I think Bella means why do you work in these establishments." Edward looked to me as he suggested a reformed meaning of my question.

"All my living life, I had to conform to what everybody thought was right." She crossed her legs. "I went to school, got married, and had babies. I wasn't perfect, but by God, I tried to be."

"Is that why your food tastes so good?" Jacob said with a broad grin.

"Cooking came natural to me, but that's not the point." She looked down at her shoes. "I conformed to what everybody wanted me to be. For twenty-five years, I followed the rules, and then for six more, I followed more rules of what people wanted me to do. Then one day, I just snapped and decided that I needed to release myself and truly live. I dance because I channel every angry thought, frustration, sadness, happiness, and every tiny emotion in between and put it into what I do on that stage."

"Not to mention the money you bring home," Jacob interjected. Mattie's eyes flicked over to him, and she smiled sweetly.

"The money is good, but I really do this for me," she said. She moved off Jasper's lap and pulled up the right leg of her chaps to reveal a five-inch, stiletto, knee-high boot. For a moment, she adjusted and tightened the laces.

"Are you going hunting tomorrow?" Edward asked. I turned and looked at him, slightly shocked that he would ask such a question. My own eyes met Mattie's for a few seconds. They were darker. She needed to hunt soon, but it wasn't urgent.

"Perhaps," she replied in a very uncaring tone. "I haven't decided yet."

I looked over at the woman on stage, who looked as though she were kissing one of the men sitting in the front row, but it was merely all a part of the show. Would Mattie do vulgar things such as that? I hoped that she wouldn't, but if she did, it was only because it was part of the job. The song ended, and the DJ's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"That was the lovely Nikita. Now, remember, if you're interested in a booth or VIP dance tonight, she sure as hell delivers," he purred lightly. "And next up, we have the lovely and beautiful, Miss Malice."

Mattie was waiting at the stairs, five feet from where we sat, to be assisted onto the stage, while the last girl was coming down. There were whoops and hollers from the crowd of men, not to mention a few women. Jasper and Alice had taken two of the chairs in front of the stage. Mattie was squatting down, and I noticed that she was spraying a clear liquid onto a towel.

The gentle melody of song began on the speakers as she approached the pole and began cleaning as she turned around it. When she had finished, she tossed the towel toward the mirror behind her and gave a quick turn before hooking her right knee and spinning. She moved so fluidly as she came down to the floor on her feet.

_Don't know what's going on  
Don't know what went wrong  
Feels like a hundred years I  
Still can't believe you're gone  
So I'll stay up all night  
With these bloodshot eyes  
While all these walls surround me with the story of our life _

Her first few moves were simple spins and turns, but they were elegant as she acted out the words of the song. I decided to get up and join Alice and Jasper to watch the show from a better angle. Every ten seconds, I would glance at the door while trying to keep an eye on the show.

At the last word of the chorus, she climbed up the pole and quickly turned herself upside down before hooking her foot and stretching her other leg out. When she came back in, she hooked her knee around the pole and thrust herself around while very quickly switching her knee holds. She did this twice more, which seemed to earn several awe inspired 'wow's from some of the other men sitting in the front row along with the wrinkled dollar bills from their stacks of money.

_  
I feel so much better  
Now that you're gone forever  
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all  
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now  
That you're gone forever_

It took me a few seconds to realize the symbolism behind the song for Mattie. The haunting words mocked her current relationship with her non-existent husband.

Or maybe I was just imagining things, as I watched her slip a zipper down on the side of the corset and toss it to the side, revealing a strapless, matching bra. She began twisting and twirling her legs around in front of one of the men, and he slid a larger bill on the stage. She smiled and rolled over to the next man, repeating the act with the addition of throwing her long legs back almost violently and hitting the hard soles of the shoes on the floor.

Why had she specifically chosen this song? There had to be a reason. I listened to the next verse, hoping for a clue.

_Now things are coming clear  
And I don't need you here  
And in this world around me  
I'm glad you disappeared  
So I'll stay out all night  
Get drunk and fuck and fight  
Until the morning comes I'll  
Forget about our life_

I looked around to my husband, who was watching with a near angry look on his face. He could hear her thoughts, and it was clear she wasn't masking them. I stood and went back to him.

"Edward?" I asked timidly. "What's the matter?"

"I think part of her knows who's coming tonight," he said in a low voice, motioning for Jake to come closer to us. Jake sat on the edge of the mini stage in front of us and leaned in close.

"What's up?"

"Be on the lookout for a tall guy with blonde hair coming through that door," he said. "She thinks it's a human that's coming, and she thinks that he is going to be very angry when he arrives."

I snorted and looked back to the stage where Mattie was twisting and twirling her legs just three seats away from Jasper and Alice. The seat that I had vacated was filled by a curly haired gentleman._  
_

_I feel so much better  
Now that you're gone forever  
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all  
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now  
That you're gone forever  
_

"Who does she think it might be?" Jake asked.

"Her son-in-law." Edward leaned back, pulling his phone out from his pocket and quickly typing in a text message without looking at the screen.

"Who are you texting?" I asked.

"Gunnar," he replied, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Just letting him know what we think may be going on."

_  
First time you screamed at me  
I should have made you leave  
I should have known it could be so much better  
I hope you're missing me  
I hope I've made you see  
That I'm gone forever_

Somehow, I thought that might be unlikely. Then again, perhaps I was reading too far into the song. It was just a song, and it didn't have to mean anything. Or at least that is what I had hoped for as I watched Mattie climb up the pole a second time to the very top where she went into the splits. I hadn't been paying attention to the fact that now the bra was gone, revealing her perfect breasts. Had I been human, I knew that I would have been a subtle shade of red. At least I didn't have to show my embarrassment.

I turned to watch the door. It opened to reveal a man who stood at five foot seven with dark brown hair that hung in different choppy layers on his head, and there was faint stubble on his chin. He wore black sunglasses, a black suit jacket, white shirt, and matching pants. I could smell mud on his shoes, and the strong, sweet scent of human blood. Somehow, I didn't think that we were going to be up against Mattie's son-in-law.

I tugged on Edward's shirt.

_And now it's coming clear  
That I don't need you here  
And in this world around me  
I'm glad you disappeared  
_

"Edward," I mumbled, "another one of us just walked through the door."

Edward turned his attention from Jake to the door. The male vampire stood, staring at the stage with a smirk painted across his face. A waitress started to approach him, but suddenly seemed to get distracted by another customer who hadn't even looked away from the stage.

I glanced up to the stage where Mattie was in the middle of several complicated looking twists and turns on the pole. Her continued performance made me wonder if she had noticed the new arrival. Alice and Jasper had subtly turned their attentions to the vampire. Jasper got up, made his way to the other side of the stage, and sat in a chair. I assumed that he wanted to catch Mattie coming off the stage.

"I didn't see that coming," Jake muttered. "Think he knows her?"

"He knows her alright," Edward growled, turning to Jake. "Go wait out by the cars."

Jake didn't question him as he made his way to the door. The vampire didn't turn an inch toward him as he brushed by. A waitress asked him to come again as she served a drink to a woman.

"Who is it?" I asked, preparing to walk out the door myself.

"I'm not sure who he is, but he knows her," he whispered to me, standing up and holding his hand out to me. "Jasper and Alice are going to make sure that she gets out. We are going to wait outside with Jake."

I stood very carefully so that we might not be noticed. The vampire was standing at the stage now. A man looked up at him and said something. I watched and prayed as the vampire looked down with those covered eyes, and the man slipped out of the chair and made a beeline for the door, leaving a small stack of money sitting at the stage. With the man gone, the vampire took his seat and set the money on the stage.

_  
I feel so much better  
Now that you're gone forever  
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all  
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now  
That you're gone forever  
And now you're gone forever  
And now you're gone forever_

Edward touched my arm, as though he was trying to reassure me. I gave him a halfhearted smile and started to follow him out while keeping my eye on Mattie.

The last five words seemed to echo in my mind. I didn't want to see if she would disappear with this mysterious vampire. I wanted to stay, but I felt the gravitational pull of my husband as he reached the door. Silently, I reminded myself that Jasper and Alice were going to remain behind while we waited by the cars. I hoped that this would end quickly.

"And that was the sexy Miss Malice," the DJ called out into microphone as he announced who the next girl would be. Mattie was picking up her tips when she stopped in front of the vampire, and she mumbled something not even I could hear. She quickly swept up the rest of her money and half ran off the stage.

Jasper caught her by the arm and told her that he was going to wait for her, as Alice went to join him. The next dancer took the stage and the vampire stood and turned toward the door.

He caught my eyes and stared at me with his head cocked. I quickly turned and followed Edward out the door.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

_I know I've given you a cliffy and it's to perhaps get some guesses in to who this mystery vampire will be. Any guesses? Anybody? And yes I know who it is._

_Okay I know I've been a horrible author for not updating sooner. In my defense it's been a difficult summer. I started working nights not long after I started publishing this story and it put a massive damper on my writing schedule. However now for a temporary time at least I will be able to write whenever I please because I'm unemployed as of late._

_Thirdly, there won't be too many chapters left for me to write in this story. Don't fret though, I was struck with the sudden inspiration to write an all human story involving everyone's favorite characters. I have also decided to bring back Mattie's character because I just love how her personality turned out. I'm calling it The Healing Process and it will be out not long after I've finished Shattered Glass._

_The voting of the songs that I opened up to try and figure out a song for Mattie's dance ended in a tie between 45 and Through Glass. Again I was stuck until a few days ago when I decided to not make a playlist and started listening to my entire windows media player. You forget what you have in there sometimes. Then suddenly Three Days Grace's song Gone Forever came on and I thought "That's perfect". Thank you to those who voted in the poll._

_**twilight-is-lovee** - You rock girly! I'm not sure, but the race may be going bye bye._

_**nature love 95** - I confuse myself so don't feel bad._

_**Frequently Dazzled 917** - Yes she is._

_**AliceCullenFreaK** - Welcome to the story and I'm glad that you are enjoying it. As far as Mattie goes, she isn't so much bi-polar as she is just broken. And Gunnar isn't a mind reader, he's actually just got the opposite of Bella's ability. He's an anti-shield as I call him and has something similar to the Jedi mind trick. Jinesa is in a bad place in her life if that makes any sense. See you around next time. _

_**wildcatjen221 - **Welcome back my friend. Yes, Gunnar dreamed of Leah. As far as the don't hump the car comment out of Edward, I felt that it may be ever so slightly not something he would say, but at the same time he hears what they're thinking. I have to tell my fiance not to hump really nice cars because we don't want the car pressing charges again.  
_

_**YaoiGurlXia** - Be afraid, be very freaking afraid._

_**Forever**_

_**Fallen Angel of Hell  
**_


	13. Unforgiven

**Title:** Shattered Glass

**Author:** Fallen Angel of Hell

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Post Breaking Dawn. Have you ever looked into a shattered mirror and saw your reflection. It's so distorted, but you know it's you in that reflection. Or do you? Or maybe you are looking at the face of something else entirely. Perhaps your other side? Your altar ego?

**Original Characters:** Matilda Masen, Gunnar Harlow

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**Chapter Twelve**

**Unforgiven**

"**What I've felt  
What I've known  
Never shined through in what I've shown  
Never free  
Never me  
So I dub thee unforgiven."**

**Unforgiven by Metallica**

Edward, Jake, and I waited by the cars. Jake was pacing impatiently and muttering under his breath. We were all uneasy with this newcomer. Edward had assured me that he had tried to read his mind, but it seemed incredibly blocked. It was as though the thoughts were there, but there were large gaping holes in them.

He had followed us outside, but had disappeared before the door had closed. We could still smell him in the mild spring air. Whatever it was he was waiting on, he was waiting patiently and away from us.

"Anything, Edward?" I whispered into the dim night to my husband.

"No, there are still holes in his thoughts," he mumbled. "Jake, go home and hold down the fort. I don't think anything serious is going to happen here."

Jake stopped pacing suddenly and turned to Edward and I.

"Are you sure?"

"If he follows us home, then it's better for you to be there protecting Nessie," he explained, "and if you would explain the details we do know to Carlisle."

Jake nodded, climbed into the Shelby, and was gone within seconds. I scanned the area from my place and spotted nothing in the dim light. Whoever this was, he was good at hiding.

"Who do you think it is?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know," he replied.

"You don't think it's Vincent do you?"

"No, she's adamant that he burned in the warehouse," he muttered, shaking his head. "She recognized him, didn't she?"

"Yes." I looked around again. Still nothing. This guy was good, and it was pissing me off.

Edward and I stood in silence for a few moments before the doors opened, and we spotted Alice, Jasper, and Mattie. Not a single one of them looked pleased. Jasper and Alice looked a little worried, but Mattie's expression was unreadable.

"My beautiful Mattie."

We heard an eerie, deep voice say from what sounded like the roof. Mattie froze, and I caught the expression of pure rage on her beautiful face.

"I should have known that you weren't dead. Your grave smelled nothing like you, and I mean more than just the charred bones and flesh that is contained in your coffin." He paused. "Now, why didn't your sister finish cremating that body and just scatter the ashes? It is what you would have wanted."

There was a soft tapping on the ground of his shoes. In the dim light, I watched as he walked closer to us, removing his sunglasses as he came a few feet from where Mattie stood with her back to him. He tucked the glasses into the jacket pocket the moment he was within mere inches from her back. A stark white hand reached out and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You cut your hair," he mumbled before looking at us. "I won't hurt a single one of you."

"You're right," Mattie said confidently, "because you're going to leave and forget you ever saw my face, and I'm going to forget that I ever saw yours."

"Mattie, who is this?" Edward asked.

"Oh, how rude of me," the vampire exclaimed, sounding almost excited. "She always got to upset with me for not introducing myself. The name's Harlow, Marius Harlow."

There was a collective sound of jaws dropping. The one guess that every single one of us dismissed on the assumption that he was dead happened to be the one guess that we would have gotten right. Her husband stood before us as though he was expecting her to wrap her arms around him.

A car pulled into the parking lot and pulled in where the Shelby had been parked. It took me a few second to realize that it was the Charger and Gunnar was climbing out. His orange eyes glinted with rage as he stared down the man he probably didn't realize was his father.

"Don't do anything stupid, son," Mattie mumbled to Gunnar.

"Yes, I would hate to take down one of your coven if he attacked me," Marius mocked. Edward growled.

"We should take this somewhere where humans won't pry," Alice suggested gently.

"I don't think we need to take it anywhere," Mattie said, preparing to take a step forward. Marius caught her by the wrist and spun her around to him. Gunnar started to lunge at him, but was quickly stopped by Jasper and Edward.

"We don't need to make a scene, Gunnar," Jasper mumbled to him. Gunnar growled, with his glare increasing tenfold.

"We need to talk," Marius said only to Matilda. She shoved him away from her roughly. His red eyes glinted, and I felt Edward shift next to me.

"We have nothing to talk about," she spat. "You left me alone, you son of a bitch."

"I didn't want to," he offered gently. "Do you know how badly I wanted to return to you? I knew that you wouldn't take me back again."

"Save your breath," she sneered. "I don't have the patience for your excuses."

"Nor I the patience for giving them." He soothed his hand ghosting toward her face. Suddenly, he stopped, his hand dropped to his side. He growled and his eyes flashed to Gunnar, "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't try to deter me."

"Then just go away, and we'll forget this ever happened," Gunnar suggested, narrowing his eyes. Jasper and Edward lessened their hold on him.

"You need to go back to wherever you came from and stay there," Mattie pushed again. Marius's eyes were locked on Gunnar's as he stared him down.

I heard the door open to the club, and one of the bouncers came out. For a moment, he looked around and then started forward again making his way toward us. I should have known that it wouldn't be too long before we drew attention.

"Malice, is there a problem here?" he asked, crossing his larger arms over his chest.

"No, no problem at all," Mattie offered, attempting to keep the sounds of agitation out of her voice. The bouncer didn't buy it. He reached out to touch her, but suddenly stopped and lowered his hand, looking sheepish.

"Are you sure? I can call the cops if you'd like," he offered with a smile. His face started looking uncomfortable, and then his face went blank.

"There's no problem here," Marius said, his voice dropping to a low, eerie purr. "Just some old friends catching up. You should probably get back to work."

"Well, I guess there's no problem here, is there? You all look like old friends; I'll just leave you here to catch up." He gave an automatic looking smile and walked away.

"That was creepy," Jasper mumbled.

"Who is this?" Marius sneered as he continued to stare Gunnar down.

"Gunnar Harlow. Who the hell are you?"

I imagined that this would get ugly. However, I watched as Marius's eyes flicked to his wife's. He didn't look a bit pleased to hear this. Mattie backed farther toward the Charger, and I felt Edward pulling me towards ours. Alice and Jasper were parked several spots away, but were backing toward the Charger as well.

"You turned him?" he growled. "You fucking turned _him_?"

"It's none of your concern," Edward said. "We are leaving, and you should too. Do not hunt in this area, please."

"Who the hell are you?" Marius growled at my husband.

"Edward Cullen. This is my wife, Bella, and our brother and sister, Jasper and Alice."

"I'm missing something here," Gunnar pointed out as he leaned casually against his car. "I'm not going anywhere until I know who he is."

"It's best you didn't know, Gunnar," Mattie warned.

"Everything is always for my own damn good," Gunnar spat. "Now, who the hell is he?"

Marius's red eyes glinted as he looked back and forth between Mattie and Gunnar. He looked angry, but seemed to be keeping his temper in check.

"My name is Marius Harlow," he hissed. "Surely you've seen a photograph of me?"

"LIAR!" Gunnar bellowed. "Tell me the truth!"

"Why would I lie?" Marius almost sounded amused. I shot Edward a look of concern. He didn't look as though he wanted to stay.

"Get in the car, Gunnar," Mattie ordered. Her voice was shaky, but her eyes were trained on her husband.

"No," he spat back at her. "Why didn't you tell me that he was alive?"

"I didn't know, and that is the God's honest truth," she replied firmly. "Now, please, get in the car."

"Let him make his own decisions, Matilda," Marius mused. "He has to start making them at some point."

Mattie growled, and I swore her eyes flashed red, but they were still the ruddy golden color they had always been. This was beginning to get out of hand.

"Edward, let's go," I urged. "This isn't our battle."

"Bella's right," Jasper agreed. "Alice and I will meet you guys at the house."

Jasper and Alice calmly walked away in the direction of where the Ducati was parked. I opened the door to the Vanquish and again looked toward my husband in hopes he was going to get in the car with me. He hadn't moved. Instead, his golden eyes were darting from Marius to Mattie and back again.

"If you guys are going to argue, it's best that you do it elsewhere," he warned again.

"I have nothing to say to him," Mattie growled again. "More than twenty-five years of waiting for him to reappear on the radar is far too long. I'm done, I can't speak for our son, but I can speak for myself. I'm not giving you a second chance this time."

"I can't urge you to listen now," he said in an assuring tone, "but I can promise you that this time I would gladly drag myself through shards of shattered glass and venom on my bare belly for a moment of your silence so that I may explain what happened. You must know that I still love you, and judging by your pure rage, you still love me as well. I shall wait with baited breath for you to grace me, as I will no longer distress you by showing up uninvited again. For now I remain unforgiven, but I will stay near you."

Mattie's glare was pure and penetrating hate and rage. There would be no argument tonight, but I can imagine that it would come in time.

He turned away from us and walked into the darkness. I glanced over at Mattie, who began to lower herself into the Charger.

"Get out of my car," Gunnar hissed. I looked over at Gunnar and for the first time realized that Mattie's telling her husband to disappear had in fact angered her son.

"Very well. Go. I can't make your decisions this time, but keep in mind, I truly didn't know that this had happened."

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Alas ladies and gentleman(?) I have hit a roadblock. I know where I want to go with this whole story and there really are just a few chapters left. I am having issues taking my ideas and turning them into the written form. Bear with me, I will finish.

In the meantime I am working on the very lengthy first chapter of The Healing Process. I hope to see you guys join that wagon as I venture down the road of making them human. I'm not going into details here, but I am going to say that there are some situations that are for more mature minds.

Forever,

Fallen Angel of Hell


End file.
